Aerith Month 2018
by sanctum-c
Summary: Prompt fills for Aerith Month on tumblr.
1. Nightly Routine

The song was immediately catchy; it boasted an infectious beat and a throaty singer. The sound hooked Aeris; she moved to the beat, dancing from the bare wooden boards to the dry packed mud in the centre of the church. A decidely different sound to her normal musical accompaniment, but worth considering for future performances. Assuming she caught the title. Or at least who sang it. The props could remain where they lay for now; more important to get a sense of the rhythm and the beat if she was seriously intending to use the song.

The next line was too close to home and her dance faltered. Not only was her personal implication jarringly familiar, but that movement- The last time she had danced like that had been a good five years previous, and for a specific audience of one. The memory of that occasion made her heart lurch, but the lyrics continued, ignorant of their complicity. Maybe not such a good choice of song - not if it provoked that kind of reaction in her. She could switch the radio off right now. But the song – whatever it was – did not seem to be a love song and for now she would let it continue. Move on it seemed to say - and the focus of the lyrics shifted. Despite, or perhaps because of, the personally awkward wording, it could almost have been about her. Curious but improbable.

Aeris span around, the music growing more frantic; her movement was slow enough to not leaver her dizzy, but still fast enough to blur the church around her. The music hit an abrupt lull when the next verse began; she ended her spin facing the radio. The tiny LED clock indicated it was almost nine. Time she got moving. Aeris murmured along to the lyrics and picked up the scattered props; her still not quite right line of candles, her staff, her poi. Was the song already repeating itself in the verse? Certainly it was not a complicated song. Still effective enough to dance to. Aeris sashayed to the pew where her long pink dress lay. Demure at a quick glance, but anyone taking a longer look would note the garment was less innocent than might be initially assumed; the neckline was pretty low and she never did button it up fully.

She tied her hair back and retied the ribbon loosely over the top. Another pang of memory, but this one different, older and much harder to forget. Her old green ribbon, thread-bare past the point of usability. Safe at home. Another shake of her head. Focus. Last check for anything she might have left behind. Nope; nothing in the church but empty pews, a patch of muddy floor and decades of dust. Aeris headed for the door.

The thin slivers of sky visible between the plates were darkening fast and the tinny noise of the radio seemed overly loud out here in the open; every other sound in Sector Five was somehow subdued and distant. Brief pause to turn the radio down; still loud enough to be audible, but not enough to eclipse the sound of an enemy – either monstrous or human. Hopefully she would avoid attracting any attention for now. The music faded out; the song had ended. Aeris wrenched the volume up and winced at the resulting blast of noise. Too late; she had missed the announcer's comment about the song and now the radio was far too loud. She swore and clicked the device off. Maybe she would hear the song another time.

Aeris was not late yet, but the thought of the long trek back into the middle of the cluster of housing and then off towards the station and then the subsequent wait on the platform was too much to contemplate. Too much effort. And if she took the shortcut she could make the next train. She changed direction and headed for one of the myriad heaps of debris that effectively screened the station off from the rest of the sector. Aeris skirted the worst of the refuse and grabbed at ever shifting handholds while she scaled the trash heap.

The growl was only just warning enough. No good getting distracted; she needed to stay focused. The monster was almost upon her when she turned to face it. Nothing she couldn't cope with, but if she had been even a few second slower- Aeris shook her head, putting the lyrics and associated memories out of her mind. She loosed a jet of fire towards the creature. Not hot or intense enough to kill it outright; the monster screeched plaintively and fled from her flames.

Aeris reached the station without any further incident and for a change it seemed like the universe was on her side; no guard on the station. She vaulted the turnstile in one smooth movement and maintained a brisk pace without seeming to hurry, resisting the impulse to check around her for witnesses. Seconds passed. A few more. No footsteps stomping towards her. No shouts, no protestations. She was fine. A few other travelers waited, scattered across the platform. The tinny beat of a bass line was audible from a nearby teenage girl's headphones. Another infectious beat; Aeris tapped her foot and swayed to what little she could hear.

The girl with the headphones did not take any notice of Aeris until they were both on the train and stood opposite each other. A jolt sent the girl stumbling into Aeris; she was older than her first glance indicated, maybe a year or two younger than Aeris herself. Aeris caught the girl and gave her time to find her footing. Her blue eyes were nothing short of amazing this close. Big, round glasses, pale red hair. If she didn't live in Midgar she'd look wonderful with freckles. Aeris grinned at her and after a moment the girl smiled back. "Sorry," the girl mouthed and backed off to the other side of the train. Aeris grabbed for a handhold the same time the girl did; the floor tilted a moment later. The train was beginning its climb towards the upper plate.

"It's fine," she mouthed to the girl. The stranger's cheeks reddened; she glanced up the length of the train, looked back and met Aeris's gaze. They both smiled at the other. Did Aeris need to work tonight? It was not like she and Mom would starve if she took one night off to see where things might go with the girl. Aeris tightened her grip on her handhold. Not the way to look at things. While today might be fine, what about tomorrow? Next week? Aeris glanced at the girl again and leant back against the wall. The girl stole glances at irregular intervals; definitely interested and it looked like she was working up the nerve to say something. Aeris was going to agree to whatever suggestion she made. If she made the first move, if she crossed the carriage, if-

The train announcer ruined the moment by announcing their arrival at the next stop. The girl jumped and looked around, the train already slowing down for the station. Not Aeris's stop. So much for that. The girl at least flashed her a crestfallen smile and a wave that Aeris returned before she hurried alongside a handful of other passengers. Her red hair was soon lost in among the crowd and the train moved on. A missed opportunity for them both it seemed. Aeris let out a breath she did not realize she held. Maybe they would have been good together. Maybe it would have gone terribly. In any case; she seemed like she would not be avoiding work tonight.

Her stop was the end of the line; right beside the Mako reactor and across from the Shinra building. Everyone streamed off the train, Aeris crowding in among them, jostled every step of the way to the exit. Far too many rail employees around to risk dodging the fare in the same way she did in the slums. Nothing else for it. The man in front of her pressed his pass over the scanner on the turnstile. Aeris immediately pushed into him and pressed him forward, the restraining bar coming up hard against her back. He staggered, found his footing and turned to her, ready to snarl. She smiled, leaning forward a touch before he could say anything. The man stared down at her, his intended outburst dying on his lips after her murmured apology. Aeris darted around him and into the crowd; other people were swarming out of the station. Best to not get in anyone else's way - and also best to ensure the stranger could not make anything more of their brief encounter.

At least none of the guards seemed to have noticed her little stunt. Success; she was on the upper plate for free once again. Now she needed to get ready. The sky was unexpectedly clear for a change, the normal haze thinner today. For once she actually she had to shield her eyes from the sinking sun. A good omen? Tall buildings soon screened the sun from view; the streetlights flickered on and pushed the pooling shadows back. More distant stars than normal in the sky above; the night would get pretty cold at this rate. Not that it affected her; Aeris was always warm. And perhaps the cold would encourage people to linger at her performance. More chance of donations that way.

The plaza in Sector Eight held familiar sights; Shinra workers heading into or out of the towering company building; other performance artists; couples enjoying the evening. Aeris quickened her pace; if only she could out-distance that same unwanted thought now welling up from the depths of her mind. Hard to shake a desire to dwell on the past today and Shinra's relationship to it. No. No time, no distractions now. She put that out of head. Aeris made it to her usual spot; a corner to one side of the plaza, free from other performers. The radio went down on the ground, switched over from radio to tape.

Aeris arranged her staff and poi nearby, hesitated for a moment and decided against the candles – why try to pre-emptively demonstrate a part of her act that was far from perfected? Stick to the essentials today. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. Ready. She clicked the tape on and tapped her foot to the beat, swaying in time with the music. The noise got immediate attention from passers-by; most only glanced at her and kept on moving. Fair; nothing too exciting for them to see yet. Unbuttoning her dress drew more overt attention. An unnecessary step, but part of the act, part of the show. Draw people in however she could then dazzle them.

She let her dress fall to the ground – it was dry enough – and began the first of her more complex moves. A scattering of watchers now. Some might think she was about to strip completely given the provocative red outfit she wore beneath the dress, but her skill lay elsewhere. A few members of her audience looked familiar; they might have seen a previous performance and made the effort to come back to see her. Gratifying if that was the case. The minority however; most would likely have never seen this before. Well; they were in for a treat.

The song hit the right lyric; Aeris hooked her foot under her staff and with a flick sent it up into the air. A moment of focus and both ends burst into flame. She caught the staff without missing a beat, twirling it around herself and the Fire Dancer began her nightly routine.


	2. The Right Look

Somehow the blond Turk, the first to ever apprehend Aeris, had no idea who she was. Instead of the expected outcome (her being immediately hauled back to Shinra right that second), the Turk instead went into a spiel regarding all the benefits of enrolling in the SOLDIER program. This Turk was new it seemed. Newer anyway. Shinra was always sloppy to a point, but given keeping an eye on Aeris Gainsborough seemed a major part of the Turk's remit, to find one so thoroughly ignorant of her past was somewhat refreshing. Shame about the woman's determination that Aeris not turn down a SOLDIER recruitment opportunity.

Aeris could take care of herself and would normally be bidding a hasty retreat right about now. But she was up against a Turk, and while this Turk was ignorant of Shinra's interest in her she had at least undergone training. If nothing else she knew how to hold Aeris's arm just so and gave her little option but to walk forward and join the eclectic group of other potential SOLDIER candidates. The Turk acknowledged that Aeris was unlikely to make the cut, but was not about to turn her loose either. They needed a quota and Aeris had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Turk said she would be fine and even noted Aeris was near certain to fail the preliminary exam. Once Aeris fell at that step, she would be back out the door without further comment. The Turk would have still made her quota. Hard to argue with the hypothetical situation - assuming no one else noticed who she was in the meantime. Calm. She was not caught yet.

The Turk stayed with Aeris while the queue shuffled towards the special transport train for the upper plate. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Favor?" The Turk replied behind her.

"Yeah. Let's be honest; I don't exactly look like SOLDIER material." Aeris kept her tone neutral, the people ahead of her stepping onto the train one at a time.

The Turk sounded amused. "You'd be surprised." A sigh. "But I take your meaning." There were other women in the queue, though the majority were far bulkier and muscular than Aeris. "You want to stand more of a chance or something?"

Minimise chance of detection, but- "Yes." She tried to step forward.

"Careful," the Turk said, pulling Aeris's other arm back until a new wave of pain pulsed into her shoulder.

"I just wanted to save my ribbon," Aeris said with gritted teeth. "I'm not going to run."

"Yeah, right."

"Like I could get away from you fast enough now," Aeris replied.

The Turk seemed to consider that for a moment and let go of her arm. "Alright. But first sign of funny business and-"

"I know, I know." Her arm was still sore, but better now she could move it. Running remained an option; but from a standing start, with the Turk right beside her? She was not certain enough to try. There remained a little time before she reached the head of the queue; best to do what she could. Aeris undid her ribbon and palmed the white materia. The Turk either took no notice or was beyond caring about what her ribbon kept safe. "Do you have a knife?" she asked over her shoulder.

"You think I'd trust you with a blade?" the Turk scoffed.

"I haven't tried to run, have I?" Aeris shook her head. "I don't need you to give it to me. I just want to cut my hair. Fast."

A sigh. "Kind of a shame," the Turk said. A metal click sounded behind her and Aeris's back tensed. Calm.

"Gotta have the right look though." In spite of everything, the notion of not having to spend so long braiding her hair each day did at least hold something of an appeal. Still a shame to lose it all. What would she look like with shorter hair?

"You want me to just cut your braid off?" The Turk's hands moved her braid up and away from her neck. Aeris nodded, the movement hampered by the Turk's grip. "Sure?" Aeris nodded again. The Turk pressed something against her hair. There was a tug and the whispering noise of metal cutting- Severed tips of curled hair brushed across her cheeks and neck, the unnoticed weight of her hair suddenly tangible by merit of its absence from the back of her head. "You'll need to get it neatened up by someone who knows what they're doing."

Aeris ran a tentative hand through her shortened hair, fingers moving easily through what remained. So strange to find it ending so close to her head. "Can you cut any more off?" How recognizable was Aeris with shorter hair versus Aeris with a braid?

"Sure but-" The Turk muttered something. "This is going to look messy."

"It's fine." The scruffier the better. A lot closer to the train now. A steady stream of hair tumbled down her body as the Turk pulled at the remaining strands and slid the knife through each handful. Her clothes would need a thorough cleaning at this rate. Her clothes! Aeris cursed. The pink dress was far too recognisable. Unless- She slipped the jacket from her shoulders, stepped forward and pulled her dress over her head.

"Hey, woah." The Turk grabbed her and whirled her around until they were face to face. "What are you doing?"

"The right look," Aeris said still moving in a hurry, not wild about standing in the street in nothing but her underwear. She buttoned the dress all the way to the bottom and pushed the bodice down into the skirt. Slipping the garment back over her head, she wadded some of the extra fabric around her waist to minimise the chance of it slipping off. A shorter and somewhat odd looking skirt, but she was lacking in both time and resources. Aeris slipped the jacket back on and buttoned it half-way up. Exposed mid-riff, re-purposed dress, short hair and jacket that drew more attention to her chest. Not fully removed from her regular appearance but maybe enough to avoid a second glance from anyone able to expose her identity.

"Not sure if this is the right look," the Turk said in an amused tone, her hand on her hip. She broke into a grin and shook her head.

"It'll have to do," Aeris murmured, hands again fussing with the remnants of hair. The shortened strands tickled her ears. Maybe the Turk could cut away a bit more? Maybe not; there were only a few people in the line ahead now. All too soon she would find out if her disguise was sufficient. "Hey, what's your name?"

A pause from the Turk. Almost long enough for Aeris to withdraw her question. "Elena," the Turk replied at last .

"Elena," Aeris echoed. Two more people between her and the train. "I'm-" There were other Aeris's in the slums. A few Eris's and one or two Aerith's. Her name was not that distinct, but it would still be best to avoid any chances; who knew what might happen if she said her real name at this juncture? "-Rinoa." If Elena was suspicious of her pause, she gave no indication. Aeris reached the front of the queue and shot one final glance back at the Turk. "Guess this is me."

Elena smiled at her. "Hey. Good luck Rinoa."

Aeris managed a smile in reply. "Thanks."


	3. Jumping to Conclusions

Long-term survival in Midgar depended on a few specific factors of which location was probably the single most important. Always safer on the Upper Plate; best place for anyone wanting a shot at a longer life. The slums varied wildly in terms of personal security. Sector Seven felt safe enough; at least Tifa never felt the need to look over her shoulder there. Unlike, say, Sector Six. Sector Five was reportedly also a pretty safe district, but that part of Midgar tended to inspire some odd rumors. Houses that moved and might be capable of eating people for one extreme example. Hard to give that any credence, but with a city of this scale and with official reports of monsters managing to enter the city in the night-time, and the strangeness of documented monster types in the area, near anything seemed possible.

Tifa shook her head. While there were safe places down here, those living in the slums rarely had the luxury of spending all their time in one of the few pockets of safety. Most worked in the other, more dangerous sectors or took the long train ride to the Upper Plate for better paying employment. Not that the increased wages helped given the cost of train passes, and even then at the end of the day workers still had to come back down to the slums.

The woman in the pink dress ahead seemed to be one such example. She stepped off one of the last trains while Tifa was making her way home. That should have been the end of it; a flash of pink in the distance, the figure of a woman making her way deeper into the city, and Tifa minding her own business. She needed to get back to the Seventh Heaven for another Avalanche meeting. If all continued to plan, soon they would be able to act.

But even though she had come around to the concept of destroying Mako reactors violently (come around to was misleading. Her anger had not quelled from that agonising moment on Mount Nibel. Sephiroth might be mysteriously no more, but those that let him roam the world unchecked remained in power), she had no stomach for any kind of senseless loss of life. There were a lot of bystanders in this city; the people who wanted nothing more than to survive another day. Who could blame them for giving into the lure of the bright lights and Shinra's endless propaganda? There were opportunities here – or at least that was what the people outside the city believed. By the time the truth was clear there was little choice for anyone but to remain.

The woman in pink looked far too innocent to be wandering into Sector Six without a care in the world. Was she lost? Tifa quickened her pace to keep the girl in sight and moved away from Sector Seven. Nothing around too dangerous here, but then again; the benefits of Sector Seven and close proximity to it. The woman vanished around a turn in the road and Tifa hurried to keep up.

The pink really did seem to signal naivety on the woman's part. And thus it seemed impossible she could live down here - despite the late hour. Was she some Upper Plate house-wife with too much time on her hands? Come to ply her trade down in the slums or cheat on a spouse or- Sell flowers? Tifa squinted. The woman had a wicker basket over one arm, a selection of flowers peeking out over the rim. Whatever her story, the woman definitely had time to spare to be selling those. Something caught the woman's attention and she glanced to one side. Closer to Tifa's age than expected.

She could still easily be someone's wife. Or was perhaps some rich-guy's daughter. Incredible decisions on her part all the same; to come and hawk flowers down here in the slums. The girl was probably selling them for fifty gil a flower or something ridiculous. Maybe she was the type who somehow thought she could actually change Midgar by coming down here and selling flowers. Did she think she could cheer up the slums with them? Oh, never mind the massive wealth disparity between those above and those below. Oh no. Here, these flowers will do in place of any kind of change to the system. By the way that will be one hundred gil. Yes, you can get them on credit good sir, but be aware there will be interest applied-

Curious. The girl was not defenseless. Whether that staff was for show or she knew how to use it was debatable. Okay; the daughter hypothesis seemed plausible. Probably the eldest of three sisters - the one with good intentions. From some Upper Plate family who were not ignorant of what it was like down here - and she was doing what she felt she could. Heart in the right place, but her intrusion still rankled. The girl moved deeper into Sector Six with more intent than Tifa would expect from a casual visitor. She had done this before perhaps. Or else had sufficient information of her intended route. Tifa was close enough to get to her in case anything made a move-

A pack of Blood Taste cleared a pile of junk and caught sight of the girl. Tifa cursed and hurried forward; the girl stopped dead. What was she doing? Instead of running, the girl carefully placed her basket beside her feet and hefted her staff in both hands. Now this was a surprise. The Blood Tastes growled and stalked forward, the leader staring the girl down while its companions moved to flank her. Maybe the girl did know how to take care of herself. Doubtful she could cope with so many opponents-

With a blur of speed the girl whipped her staff around to knock away the Blood Taste behind her. Without pausing, she blocked an attack from one of its opportunistic companions. The remaining creatures screeched and swiped at her with razor-sharp claws. The girl did not panic, did not make any clumsy moves out of fear. Instead she shifted smoothly from stance to stance and fended off the Blood Tastes. Her footwork was nothing short of excellent.

After a few more futile swipes the creatures seemed to tire of their opponent, and, after the girl aimed one final blow at the nearest Blood Taste, the pack fled. The girl remained tensed and ready, only relaxing with a sigh a full minute later. She picked up her basket and continued on her way as if nothing had happened. If the girl noticed Tifa during that little display, she gave no indication; no glances over her shoulder or changes to her pace. Tifa followed, less concerned about the girl's safety and more curious about who she was. Where was she going? And how had she learned to defend herself like that?

The girl suffered through a few more minor skirmishes before she reached Sector Five. Again she moved on a direct line to her destination; no meandering or struggling to find her way. She went straight to a small cottage with a massive garden, the whole area hidden from the rest of the sector by a quirk in the landscape. Tifa stopped at the start of the flowerbeds. Flowerbeds! In Midgar of all places. This was amazing; a veritable paradise in the slums. A quaint house, a garden full of flowers; almost a fairy-tale in itself. But the girl barely took any notice of those wonders and instead pushed her way inside. Now everything made sense. All of Tifa's assumptions had been in reverse. The girl lived here. Tifa grinned, far more impressed now. Who was the girl? No time to find out right this second – not after this major detour. But at some point she needed to come back and find out all she could about the Sector Five flower girl.


	4. Working from Home

_Set before The Number I by Nautilusopus:_

* * *

The working day was a familiar routine. Aeris would set her alarm for seven and bat the clock to silent after a frantic scrabble to shut the thing up. A few minutes later she would wake in a panic and actually set the alarm for ten minutes' time. After those ten minutes she would set it for another ten minutes. Then another, and another, until - with less than an optimal time remaining - she dragged herself into a sitting position. This movement tended to disrupt Cassiopeia who chose that exact moment to suddenly become more affectionate and settle onto her legs. Another delay since Cassiopeia was adamant Aeris should ruffle her fur for a few minutes. Cat fussed and nudged off her legs, Aeris was able to go downstairs.

Breakfast was toast and coffee. A quick shower after and she was out the door with her hair still wet. About an hour to get to work, four hours to lunch, another four or so until the end of the day, another hour to get back home then dinner. A short opportunity to do something (usually little beyond a catch up on recent papers and journals) then actually get to bed far too early in the morning, sleep and do the same all over again the next day.

Today was different. Today she was working from home for the first time; the realisation had taken effect in stages. Getting to bed the previous night had been even more delayed than normal (no need to be in bed early since she did not have to run for the train) - and she was a lot slower getting up the next morning. Less of a need to rush today. No need to race to the shower. Aeris lounged in bed even as the cat hinted with increasing insistence that Aeris should march downstairs and put some food in her bowl right this second. Aeris relented in the end and wandered down to the ground floor. The day felt somewhat odd. She was not late yet even now at eight-fifteen; they would expect her online by nine, though there was some lee-way with that.

Cassiopeia ravenously ate her food as Aeris idled in the kitchen. Toast as usual? If the eggs were still good she could have something more substantial for breakfast. The fridge revealed a tragic lack of bacon or sausages; their absence hampered the fledgling idea of a fry-up. Scrambled or fried eggs remained plausible though. Or- She pulled open the freezer. More time; how about pizza for breakfast. No. That was clearly madness. Wasn't it?

"People eat cold pizza for breakfast all the time," she said to Cassiopeia who gave her a look before resuming her slurping consumption of her own food. "Is there some reason why hot pizza for the same meal is somehow wrong?"

Cassiopeia declined to comment on the seeming double-standard. Aside from waiting for the frozen pizza to cook (something easily side-stepped by showering while the oven heated up or while the pizza cooked), there was no real reason why pizza for breakfast was a bad idea. Other (sensible) people might object; Mum, Dad, co-workers. But none of them were here. She sighed. Mum and Dad. A mistake to think of them again - but often hard not to given her work. Aeris pushed some bread in the toaster. Pizza next time. Or possibly she could go all out with some more exotic meals. It made sense to eat big meals at the start of the day, right? A curry might work-

Aeris shook herself. Working from home seemed to come with some unforseen and weird risks. Probably not conducive to a good work ethic. Stick to her routine - even if she had diverged off of it already. She was a full hour out of sync when she seated herself at the desk and powered her laptop on. First wireless, then VPN, then- Everything was a little slower, a little more awkward than working at the lab. Here she was stuck with a smaller keyboard and a smaller screen. The number pad was soon missed, Aeris's fingers reaching for non-existent keys. Might be an idea to unplug the peripherals from the desktop and wire them in for something approaching the same capacity as work.

Maybe after lunch. For now; she needed to do something resembling work. Email was a good start. About an hour and a half later, her stomach gurgled. What new absurdity was this? She had only just had breakfast. But the kitchen was a short walk - closer than the vending machines or the canteen at work. Plus nothing here would cost her a penny - well, a penny more than she had already spent on shopping. But if she consumed something now that would mean she would need to buy more later and- Aeris shook her head. No. It would save money. She never remembered to keep any change with her and then had to get money from a cash point and break the note and all the loose change either wound up in a whisky box or lost in the sofa- Another gurgle from her mid-section. "Stop it," she told her stomach.

A faint hollowness now. There was no specifically good reason for not getting something else to eat. She was hungry; why avoid satisfying her cravings? Maybe if she had stuck to her routine she wouldn't be feeling hungry now. Maybe?

Cassiopeia wandered back and forth on the work surfaces yowling in some new and terrible hunger while Aeris surveyed the room; what could she snack on? If only her thoughts did not keep turning to pizza and curry. Maybe crisps? Crisps - an excellent break-time snack. An hour after starting work. Her stomach gurgled again; guilt was not working. Crisps then.

Lifting the multipack down revealed something else; a box of Liquourice Allsorts stuffed right at the back of the cupboard. How long had they been there? The sweets came under a personal heading of frivolous snack food; mostly because once she started eating them she often did not stop. An oddly advantageous snack when it came to sharing however; no one else seemed to like them for some reason. Aeris put the crisps back and opened the box. She paused at the kitchen door. No, she could not just eat all of them. Take some now to snack on and maybe have some more with lunch. And an afternoon snack. And for dessert later.

She emptied a good number of the Allsorts into a bowl and carried them back to her desk. When she felt hungry, she would take another sweet from the bowl while she responded to emails. Email checked; take a sweet. Checking over experimental data deserved another sweet. Ignoring Cassiopeia's new proclamation of starvation? Another sweet- Her fingers hit porcelain. Aeris blinked. The bowl was empty. It was eleven-thirty. Not that long until lunch. Aeris frowned. Somehow not a factor she considered before. Pizza sounded far more like a lunch kind of thing. People didn't judge over pizza for lunch did they? She carried on working, but still periodically reached out for the empty bowl and disappointment. Another few minutes of that and she conceded defeat; she retrieved a new bowl-full of Allsorts from the kitchen.

Okay. Now she would crack on until lunch. Thirty second later, Cassiopeia decided her latop was an excellent place to sit and stare right at her. "You are not making this easy," Aeris told the cat. Cassiopeia stared back unfazed. She would look for an empty box during lunch - otherwise today might end up being longer and less productive than normal.


	5. The Gainsborough eXperiment

Sleep often seemed like some kind of theoretical concept these days. Certainly it often proved elusive. Perhaps Aeris could make a career out of investigating the phenomenon; if her qualifications remotely touched on that kind of subject. But she could run tests; chart how a subject (ie. her) reacted over time. Find that point where her body would shut down and time would pass without her notice. And of course the intervening steps until that happened when she became increasingly sluggish. At least until she imbibed some coffee; that was always more or less sufficient to keep her going. Until it was time for the next coffee. That or she would collapse face-down in her bed for a while. There had to be some literature on that somewhere-

Aeris shook herself. Getting distracted and procrastinating. Again. Running the launch of a space exploration mission was a magnitude of stress she would never have considered a year previous. So much to do, so many variables to check, re-check, re-re-check and then frequently replace with better ones. So many people needing endless signatures from her, or her waiting for endless signatures from everyone else.

A month remained until the launch. They had their trio of pilots ready and waiting; Cloud Strife, Sephiroth Crescent and Cid Highwind. Everything was set. If only- There were some wrinkles and potential hitches in the plans. Not least was the increasing risk of Highwind's removal from the project. It was true that he might well be the most enthusiastic and most experienced pilot. The computer systems might be largely his design. And he might have charted the courses and done half the necessary mathematics. But; his complete disrespect of any authority, refusal to spend time in the simulator, and his tendency to shirk certain essential safety systems won him no favors. He was rapidly burning through his remaining chances.

Highwind's major saving grace was that there were perilously few people they could plausibly replace him with. Unfortunately he knew that too. Shera would be Aeris's first choice, but the woman's face fell when Aeris even started putting out feelers for the notion. Space might be a point of absolute fascination for Shera (much like the rest of the division), but she unwilling or unable to consider being part of the crew. She dreamed of space but she was also adamant she would not take the first step towards it.

Distracted again; Aeris should be sorting applicants for an assistant. Offloading any of her mountain of paperwork would be a blessing at this point. Another swig of coffee and she peered at the stack of files. The temptation to do this quickly passed with some effort; picking someone based on their photograph was almost certainly a recipe for a less than qualified candidate. Though should it be? All the candidates had been through a rigorous pre-screening before she even saw the files; had to be sure they were all capable of what she needed of them. Here was Tifa Lockhart. She looked perfectly nice, attractive- Distracted! Tifa's personal statement indicated an early interest in stargazing. Good start if, not precisely the right area.

But. Difficult to overlooked that she was only in the pile because Strife passed her file on and insisted she would be perfect for the job. Aeris leafed through Lockhart's file. She was humoring Strife. Not as if- Where those really her grades? Aeris's eyes widened and she re-read the file again. She jotted down a note to get confirmation of those results. High grades did not mean anything if she did not pass any of the tests they laid out, but- Another blink. Near perfect results. Aeris leant back on her chair and studied the photograph again. Tifa Lockhart might be the perfect candidate. Too soon to give the position away, but-

Aeris put Tifa's file onto the maybe pile and started looking for anyone close.

* * *

Three months later...

"Everything's in order to start final count-down," Tifa announced and hummed a few bars from the relevant song.

Aeris stared up at the clock that had been ticking down for the last two days. "Good." She shot Tifa a grin and let out a sigh. "We're finally doing this."

Tifa smiled back. She was as good as her file, if not better and worked tirelessly in her new role. Tifa cut through the mass of paperwork Aeris had to contend so much that Aeris was able to do something not unlike the hazy concept of relaxation she remembered from the dim and distant past. This despite launch day rushing towards them like a freight train. Now the two of them stood with Shera in the control building waiting for the completion of the last checks. Way out in the distance, the towering bulk of the Shinra-26 was ready to launch; still crewed by the trio of Strife, Crescent and Highwind. The latter only had to handle a few more minutes and then there would be no stopping him. As long as he did not start smoking in the cockpit (this after the three occasions Strife prevented him from pulling out his lighter) he would go into space with the others.

Final checks completed, Aeris made her last announcements to the ground crew and the pilots. Time to make history. She gripped Tifa's hand as the rocket's engine ignited and then- Ascent. No explosion, nothing fell off of the craft; the Shinra-26 arced gracefully into the sky. The excitement became palpable as the rocket ascended and when the instruments finally indicated Shinra-26 was in a stable orbit, the room exploded into applause. Success. Tifa threw her arms around Aeris and kissed her cheek. And now perhaps there was time to think about how things had been going with her assistant...

* * *

And it had all been going so well. The Shinra -26 crew were almost out of radio range when Crescent seemed to make mention of something outside the capsule. "Shinra-26, repeat last transmission," Aeris said frowning. There was no way he could have said what she thought. Was there?

"Some... ing, I can.. ...te-" A burst of static and a heart-stopping metallic clang. Not a comforting noise. And not a noise easily caused in the confined space of the rocket. "...on...ter...ull. ...Strife, ca... see...?"

A storm of static swept over the radio. "Shinra-26, please repeat last transmission?" Let this be a prank or a mistake. Anything. She would yell at them all when they got back. If they got back.

"Wha... k," Highwind yelled as Strife yelled something indecipherable.

A barrage of metallic clangs sounded from the speaker. "What is that?" Aeris demanded, forcing herself to stay silent after the question, to not hit the call button and chase for a response. Nothing. The crew were silent.

"Aeris?" Tifa looked worried. "They've moved outside of transmission range."

Now the Planet was between them and the rocket. Nothing on the radio but the distant roar of other stars. Nothing from the Shinra-26. No transmitters over that side of the world. Nothing they could do now but wait for them to answer when they were in range again. If they ever were. Tifa reached out and took Aeris's hand. Aeris laced their fingers together, but the worry remained. Had she sent three men to their deaths?


	6. Not the Most Welcoming Awakening

Something nudged into Aeris's side. "Are you okay?" an overly loud voice asked. Aeris groaned in response, her back aching, her head pounding, the searing bright light hurting even with her eyes closed. Another moment to gather herself- The something - presumably the same something - was impatient and nudged into her side again. "Hey?" Aeris forced one eye open.

A girl was staring down at her, her long dark hair seeming somehow forever on the verge of spilling over her shoulders but never quite getting there. Red eyes was unusual. Her concerned expression melted into relief and the start of a grin. But the girl only made it to "Hi" before her whole posture changed, the relief evaporating from her face and her body tensing.

"Hi," Aeris replied in a hopefully friendly tone. Not clear what had gone wrong, but she would figure it out. Something to worry about when she hurt less. Aeris smiled. The girl did not smile back, her concern was gone and it seemed like it was not going to return any time soon. Perhaps she needed to sort this now. What had- Oh. Aeris sighed. This again.

She forced herself into a sitting position, her head swimming and almost too heavy for her neck to support. With a grunt she forced herself to look up, fighting the urge to see what that oddly green thing underneath her was. "Guess you're not wild about people like me?"

"You're pretty astute." The girl backed off, her gaze never leaving Aeris's. "And yes. I have issues with Shinra and SOLDIER at the best of times, to say nothing of the heart-attack you almost gave me. I don't know what kind of stunt you're pulling, but-" She broke off when Aeris hunched forward with a groan, clasped her head in both hands and closed her eyes.

A blessed moment of darkness, but the pain returned all too soon. Her questing fingers revealed nothing to indicate her skull was in more than one piece. "Look, I know you're injured, and I'm- I'm glad you're not dead. But please leave. Now."

Deep breath. "Would it help if I told you I was fighting Shinra?" Aeris raised her head and leant back on her hands. The girl stared down, haloed by the streaming sunlight. So bright in here; a quirk of the plate alignments allowed actual sun to flood the interior of- Wait. What was this place? Pews or something like them in two ordered columns. The windows seemed formed of stained glass. So- She almost regretted turning her head, but before the pain got too much- There. An altar. This was a church. A church? Aeris blinked. Odd.

"A SOLDIER fighting against Shinra?" The girl snorted and folded her arms. "That's a new one."

Aeris opened her mouth- And froze. There was a lot of green beneath her. More than simply green; it was a mass of plants and- flowers. Flowers! Any kind of plant growing within the city limits was supposedly impossible. But here there were plants that were not simply growing, but actively thriving alongside the flowers. Flowers rang a distant bell.

There was a rumor about flowers in the city. Sometimes little more than an off-hand comment made every now and again; something no one really gave much attention and yet the rumor somehow persisted no matter how much time passed. The story went - in its most basic form - that there was someone below plate who sold flowers.

All kinds of different ones, but somehow fresher and longer-lasting than the limp half-dead things the Upper Plate shops could muster up. Better still than the flowers the Shinra execs imported from elsewhere for the price equivalent of a first-born child. This girl; was she the source of the rumors?

Her distraction had lasted too long. "You okay?" the girl asked, frowning at her.

Aeris blinked. The flowers were interesting but that was something for later. Perhaps they would work well for public perception. Distracted again. "Heard of Avalanche?"

"I might have." The girl was still tense. "Though to be fair, not many in the slums who don't know about them."

"Well, I signed up." Aeris smiled. The girl shot her another quizzical look; this was hard work and her head was throbbing and a bath would be wonderful and- "I know how it sounds. It's like some absurd double-bluff isn't it? Send a SOLDIER to infiltrate an anti-Shinra group and not even try to hide what she is."

"You wouldn't be able to hide those for long-" The girl gestured towards her. Her eyes; never subtle.

Aeris gestured to her face. "Don't be so sure. Contact lenses are a thing." No response. She sighed. "Okay, I don't know if I can convince you I'm not with Shinra anymore but- I can tell you in no uncertain terms that I know Avalanche are absolutely right. Even Shinra knows they're right, though they'd never admit it. They're not about to stop what they're doing; that's something for the next generation to figure out. Or maybe the one after that." Aeris fidgeted and dragged her legs under her. Everything hurt; normal training routines for SOLDIER were bad enough, but this was something else. Could she stand? Aeris wobbled as she got to her feet.

A glance up when she straightened told more of the story of how she wound up lying in a church. A conspicuous hole in the pointed roof above her on a direct line with the warped and broken remains of the connecting bridge outside the still burning Mako Reactor 5. Aeris might be more or less fine, but what of her companions?

If Barret and Jessie had been able to get clear things should be okay. Would Avalanche be looking for her? Unlikely; if they had been they should be here by now (assuming they thought she was still alive). It was not like she would be hard to find given the circumstances they last saw her in. She needed to get back and find out. Regardless of whether the others had not made it or were waiting for her; Avalanche needed to deal with President Shinra's mysterious appearance last night.

"So you're claiming you defected?" The girl had backed up again when Aeris stood; her fists now clenched at her sides.

"I really did. First ever ex-SOLDIER. Hiding's a bit of a pain, but you can do it." She conspiratorially leant a little closer. "The contact lens thing works for the most part. Gotta stay in the light though," she stage-whispered. The girl fought back a grin; she seemed to no longer consider Aeris quite so much of a threat. "Taking a risk admitting this to you too - there is a bounty on me."

"You're lucky I would never deal with Shinra or take their money then." The girl narrowed her eyes.

"Very lucky. Glad you have your principles," Aeris said. She gestured to the flower bed. "And this of course. Not convinced I could have survived that fall otherwise. Didn't think anyone could grow flowers here." The girl said nothing, any hints she was opening up gone again. Aeris sighed. "You don't have to say anything. I'll be on my way; I need to get back to the others. That's two reactors we've taken down though now. Third should be soon. I'd offer to leave this sector alone, but-" She pointed upwards. "Sorry."

The girl sighed. "You really are with Avalanche?" Aeris nodded. "At least someone's fighting back."

Aeris grinned. "Given your animosity, I'm surprised you never tried to join."

"Too risky for me when-" The girl snapped her mouth shut. She hurried past Aeris and crouched beside the flower bed, tending to the broken stalks and crumpled flowers. Aeris's head swam and she staggered to the nearest pew. The girl looked around as the wood creaked beneath Aeris. "You're not going to ask about the flowers?"

"Not unless you want to tell me," Aeris murmured, leaning back against the pew. "I'm curious of course, but I am a stranger and-"

"I can grow flowers. I never knew I could until I came here." The girl interrupted. Aeris looked up; the girl's attention was back on the flowers, hunched over as she focused on the ground in front of her

Aeris leant forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Somewhat ironic given no one else can do it here." She licked her lips. "You said you came here. How long have you been in Midgar?"

"Five years."

"Interesting." Aeris fiddled with her collar. "Never heard of anything like this. Because of SOLDIER I ended up involved in a lot of weird science-" A void of unpleasant former actions best not recounted or revisited. She cleared her throat. "Plants tend to wither here. Though-" The girl still had her back to Aeris. How could she grow flowers? "Where did you live before?" That tidbit might offer a clue though was unlikely to fully explain the girl's ability.

The girl glanced over her shoulder; her mouth opened- The screech of rusted hinges split the air. The girl leapt to her feet and tensed. Aeris hauled herself up again, limbs aching and joints cracking. The pain and dizziness were at least fading; SOLDIER regeneration assisting in that regard. An unfortunately familiar figure with blond hair and a dark blue suit stood in the church doorway. Aeris groaned. "Not you Elena."

"Gast." Elena scowled at her. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same-" Aeris sighed. "Wait. If you're not here for me. Then-" She glanced at the girl who stared at Elena, tensed and ready.

"Gast?" the girl asked quietly; Elena muttered something into a radio.

"Aeris."

"Aeris then." A quick glance to her. "You can fight, right?" Aeris nodded. "Could you maybe help get me out of here?"

The girl clenched her fists again and she shifted into a combat stance. The girl versus a Turk? No contest on whose side she was taking. "I could."

"Good. And I can pay you if you need it," the girl shot back. "I'm not helpless, but you seem to at least know that Turk so-"

"I am unfortunately well acquainted with their ways," Aeris interrupted and smiled. "I think I can help you out." An impulse, a stupid notion, but she said it before she could stop herself. "Cost will be one date." Aeris winked. What was she thinking? But the girl took her words in her stride. While that was definitely a roll of her eyes, it came both a nod and a hint of a smile. Interesting. "It's a deal." Aeris took a deep breath, moved to approach Elena and stopped. "Okay. I'm sorry, one more thing. I, er, don't even know your name?"

"It's Tifa," the girl said.

"Tifa," Aeris echoed. "Let's get you someplace safer."


	7. The Funny Side of Everything

Almost funny in the end; how disappointing much of what Aeris learned was, and how little hope remained for the future of her personal quest. She moved quietly through the night, away from the others and towards the observatory at the pinnacle of Cosmo Canyon. The glimpse of the Planet from out in space, the dance of stars and other worlds; she needed to experience that again. Bugenhagen might still be awake. How could one sleep easy knowing what he did, after what he showed them? Like her he would be unable to rest while thoughts whirled and dreams amounted to nothing. All she wanted was a distraction. A chance to stare into those artificial stars and think of something, anything else.

But Aeris's hand stopped when she lifted it to knock on the door of the observatory that doubled as Bugenhagen's home. Who was she kidding? Far too late for someone of the Elder's age to be up. Not now, when the lights were off inside and the moon was high in the sky. Maybe she would get a chance tomorrow – depending on how repairs on the buggy went. Aeris retreated to the cliff edge and sat down, dangling her legs over the side.

Below the Cosmo Candle continued to burn, only the solitary guardian assigned the overnight duty still visible on the plateau. Above was the universe, the stars gleaming in the night sky. Not quite as clear as the nights on the container ship, but far more vivid than the sky above Kalm or Junon. A world apart from the faint pin-pricks poking through the mirk over Midgar. Even Gongaga had not been so clear-

She had forgotten his name. Aeris frowned. That man, barely more than a boy, stammering, nervous and flushing at her attention after she crept from Kalm on the first night out of Midgar. How could she possibly sleep now the world had opened up to her and there were untold vistas to explore? A world without high walls and gates. Somewhere without a metal sky and the clinging fog of pollution. Everyone else in Avalanche had previously seen something of the world outside Midgar at some point in their lives. She never had and now she had the chance, she could not bear to waste a minute.

The man in question was out in the wilderness a few hundred metres from the limits of Kalm. Better to see the stars by he said by way of explanation when she asked. He obliged her curiosity and tried vainly to focus on the sky and not her. His murmuring commentary noted he was far enough from Kalm to minimise light pollution, but not too distant to overly run a risk of monster attack. Likely he thought she did not notice the quick glances at her chest when she was looking up at the sky. No matter; space was far more interesting.

Aeris asked question after question and he answered. Constellations and galaxies hanging above them; cooling grass beneath her. A perspective so different to that which Bugenhagen offered. He showed Aeris and Avalanche that the multitude of stars was far vaster than those visible from the ground. Would that every revelation of late had been as joyous and enthralling. Seeking knowledge had lead her to so many new places; but not without cost.

The visit to Gongaga picked at a wound she had not realised was still there, though that at least offered a form of closure. Of her ex's fate there could be little other explanation but his death, her old assumptions weak in the face of his parent's distress. There remained some lingering hope all the same. That she - and his parents - were wrong, that one day they might be able to meet and talk about what happened, but-

Relying - like she always had on this fact - too much on her unwanted ability. No guarantee she would have ever felt his passing like those others. Midgar was less riddle with blind spots with regard to her connection to the Planet and more of a gigantic blind spot in itself. The odd place existed where her mother's voice was almost audible. The confirmation of a particular likely death was painful, but it was not like she had expected to somehow running across him again. No. This place – Cosmo Canyon – was where her hopes had run out.

There were no other Cetra left in the world. Not a single instance. It was of course possible that the Sages were wrong. Nothing to say that in some far-flung part of the world, well away from Shinra and its machinations, another of her kind still existed. Perhaps more than one. She could still hope. But like her certainty regarding Zack, protests about her isolated nature were now hollow. She was not so much hoping now, but more trying to deny something obvious.

She was the last Cetra and - if Hojo was correct - not even a true successor. The Sages offered all they could for her; what records remained regarding what her people were like, what they did, how they lived. But everything was old, outdated and incomplete. Of the few things all accounts could agree on was that she should be able hear and understand the Planet. The more disputed texts indicated there might be more, that the Planet should respond to her. Hard to imagine; outside of fleeting moments, the murmur that came in the voice of her Mother. Nothing that she felt from it was ever coherent or clear. Was that her nature as both Cetra and human interfering or a talent lost to time?

Funny. All her hopes pinned to what she might learn on this journey. And all those hopes had been for naught. Her journey began with a desire to learn more about herself and her ancestors. She knew more now, though all of it purely academic. But to live a Cetra life? That was something no one could teach her any longer. The Sages' books contained descriptions of traditions, ceremonies, beliefs. Could they begin again? Was there a merit to trying to bring them back?

And more importantly what would she do now? Going back to Midgar was to admit defeat and once more risk capture. She would go back eventually for Mom, of that there was no question, but what about the meantime? She could request a place here, learn what more she could of the Cetra. No; no desire to immerse herself in the transcribed vestiges of her culture. Two more options then; venture off into the world to see what else there was. There was a chance it might lead to finding another Cetra.

Alternatively she could stay with Avalanche. Who knew where their journey, where Sephiroth's trail, would take them next? It had already lead them so far and in following it, she had gained so many friends. An easy choice in the end; she would see this journey through. And maybe eventually see the true funny side of everything.


	8. Post-Meteor Birthday

For the first years, from age seven to fourteen, Aeris's birthday had always involved Elmyra getting time off work to spend with her daughter. This took some getting used to; afterall it was not as if the labs ever celebrated her birthdays. At least not officially. On a few years, some of the kinder techs took the pains to slip her a cupcake on the relevant day, and her mother would always do what she could with what they had. The slums were a definite step-up. There was always a cake, always presents and usually a party – all the other kids in the neighborhood Aeris knew to greater or lesser degrees invited. Her teenage years saw changes as money became tighter; prices rose and Elmyra's wages no longer stretched quite as far; a contributing factor to Aeris's own flower selling business. She understood the situation well enough – even if she had resented the reductions at the time. Still a cake, but Elmyra would restrict her celebrations to the evening, and a good proportion of those neighborhood kids were either gone or considered enemies now.

When she entered her twenties, birthdays seemed to lose the former special delight. Aeris was not jaded like some older fictional characters always seemed to be; nor was she afflicted with a crushing sense of life slipping away. Instead Aeris let the relevant day arrive and pass without much fuss. There was often still at least a present and - if it had been a good month - cake. No neighborhood kids these days and no time for parties. Maturity or the unavoidable conclusion based on current circumstances?

No adult – or at least no one in her friendship group – got birthday parties in the post-Mako world. Too much to do, too many places to be while they struggled to keep something akin to the life of the pre-Meteor days going. Only this time, they had to do so without the Mako. The leech-like reactors had been essential to life and must not be any longer - though there were days when Aeris could not help but wonder if a slower progression from one power-source to another might have been more sensible or at least more comfortable. Bad thoughts; the dark implications of Mako processing were too queasy to allow to continue.

Maybe one day she could have another party; a proper gathering of her friends and family. For now it was at least enough to see them all. She had missed the chance on her first trip across the Planet to have an impromptu celebration in one of the inns they stayed at. Based on other gatherings of the full Avalanche membership it would have resulted in a raucous good time for all involved. For this birthday at least, by a fortunate sequence of events, the entirety of Avalanche would be in Junon for at least a few hours. But not everyone at the same time annoyingly.

Cloud and Tifa were first at a painful time of day. Six-thirty am was not a time that should exist full-stop, but it was the point when Cloud was passing through on his way over to Gongaga. He stayed a scant few minutes after an extended hug; Tifa remained behind to spend a few hours with Aeris before she needed to get on with the business concerns that brought her here. Tempting to slope back to bed for a little while, but once Tifa offered to make breakfast while Aeris showered, it would be madness to turn down such an offer.

Still difficult to stop yawning – even after three cups of coffee – but Aeris persevered. Breakfast consumed and coffee imbibed, there was just enough time for Tifa and Aeris to meet-up with Barret on his way in for a meeting with the WRO energy board. Tifa went off to see someone about a cache of spirits turned up recently while Aeris and Barret called up Marlene and Mom back in Kalm. Marlene was admittedly more excited by the imminent visit of her father, but with only a little hinting from Barret she remembered to wish Aeris happy birthday. Aeris promised to visit her again when she could. Mom apologised for not being able to make the trip; Aeris insisted it was fine and they would see each other soon enough.

Barret left for his meeting an hour before her next visitor. Maybe bed would be a good idea? No time; Cid and Shera turned up early. The pair were not due until later this evening, but (ironically) high winds around Wutai had cut short an intended run over to the continent. Cid was still Cid; not much about him seemed capable of change. He slipped in yet another veiled urging for the WRO to consider space-flight again. Same conversation they had every other time they ran into each other. And inevitably Aeris promised to pass that request on too – not that she had much sway with these kinds of things. Shera had no such agenda and was merely happy to see her. She brought a present too; a miniature model of the Highwind. Hard not to smile at this being the closest she ever came to flying on it. There had been many airship trips; but never one on the Highwind, certainly not now after its recycling into a new craft.

Vincent turned up with worrying precision – or early according to Aeris's watch. His considered opinion on that detail was that her battery was wearing out. Nice to see him, even if among all of them, he remained the most distant and stiff. Tempting to at least try and embarrass him with a hug, but she let him slope off without it. His desire to be away was no surprise given Yuffie should arrive around same time – and he was still keen on avoiding her. Perhaps he really had been early? No time for that; the Wutai princess was here complete with a wide, wide range of gossip, stories and intrigue. Yuffie was somewhat freer with her time than the others and somehow Aeris found herself paying for lunch.

Nanaki arrived part-way through. Of them all, he had made the most specific effort to visit for the day; and despite Aeris's insistence he was under no obligation to do so, he maintained his intention to see her. At least he was able to keep her company for the rest of the day rather than immediately chartering another transport all the way back to Cosmo Canyon. Yuffie vanished off for some errand or other leaving them to a quiet afternoon. Nanaki was as easy to talk to as always; he related what was happening with his home and listened to Aeris about her time here. She offered him the chance to accompany her to dinner, but Nanaki demurred. The evening meal should have been Aeris, Reeve, Cid and Shera, but the earlier arrival of the latter pair meant it was just the two of them in Reeve's apartment.

Reeve insisted on apologising through the meal – he repeatedly insisted the wine was no sign of any expectations or even thoughts in such a direction. Aeris replied she didn't mind, shrugged and they shared the bottle. Not that Reeve even seemed to have time for a relationship; he close to collapse with leadership duties. The pause for this dinner was something of a hole in his sleep schedule from what Yuffie had been saying. To that end they caught up on WRO stuff, Reeve wished her happy birthday, then Aeris left early, insisting he take the opportunity to get a bit more sleep than normal.

She wandered home happy and content. Not the typical kind of birthday, but more than enough. One final tradition when the day drew to a close; mother told her once she was born at a quarter to midnight. Aeris stayed up until the same moment to witness the moment her years on the Planet ticked over. Only then did she finally retire to bed.


	9. A Simple Enough Sentiment

Aeris liked Cloud. That should have been a simple enough sentiment, but these kind of things never seemed to be entirely straight-forward. There were complications and some contributing factors to that liking. Plus quite when it began was not totally clear, but she suspected its origins lay somewhere during their stint in Wall Market. Certainly the previous day had been too soon; that was the shock of surprise and a helping hand when she needed it (despite her off the cuff offer of a date in lieu of payment). And it was not like her feelings had settled when Cloud insisted on sneaking away from her house in the early morning. She followed; no way was she letting the chance of something new, something exciting leave her behind. Hard to ignore there were some other feelings packed into those early decisions; both a certain amount of curiosity about Avalanche and a link to her past. What could Cloud tell her about Zack?

Little it seemed based on that moment they paused in the play park. Later that little reduced to nothing when against most odds Avalanche ran into Zack's parents. So anxious for any news, so desperate to know what became of him - like she had once been. While time had healed her wounds - in part thanks to her assumptions regarding his absence - their loss remained a raw wound and there was nothing she could tell them to help. That reveal affected Tifa in some odd way too; she refused to explain why Zack's name troubled her so and any implications related to it.

Other matters distracted Aeris in the interim; Cosmo Canyon near blasted away concerns about her ex and afterward there was Nibelheim to contend with. Aeris did her part to keep Cloud and Tifa going while old secrets came to light and the lie of the town they found still standing was clear. Rocket Town and Wutai gave her a chance to pause; new events and concerns took precedence. Nothing like a panicked flight while Shinra shot at Avalanche and another tangling with Don Corneo to change her priorities, to re-evaluate her relationships. The past was gone and there was little she could do about it now. Avalanche was her present and seemed a perfectly acceptable future.

The Gold Saucer was too good an opportunity to pass up. Bloodshed marred their previous visit to the theme park and the plan was for a fleeting visit this time. But they wound up stuck there thanks to a succession of fortunate misfortunes. Still; opportunity - she never had paid Cloud back for his bodyguard role. Going out on the date here gave her a nervous thrill; like sneaking out at night while Mom slept or feigning a non-existent illness to stay home. Unlike those occasions in her past, this sneaking around was all innocent; up to a point anyway. There was no harm in her accompanying Cloud while they explored the theme park. And yet it did still mean something for it to be just the two of them; she made no move to let anyone else know she was alone with Cloud like this - nor did she want anyone to find out.

But. Impossible to truly ignore the same nagging issue. The thing that bothered her on their second meeting, but lessened after; why did he remind her so much of Zack? Cloud had insisted - quite emphatically - he knew no one with her ex's name. He was adamant there was no SOLDIER first class named Zack. Quite what that meant was unclear; the ranks of SOLDIER were not exactly public knowledge so it was certainly possible that the two never had met. But then; was it also possible that Zack had never attained that rank either? She never had questioned anything he told her in the past - her relationship with him was more tangling with Shinra than she ever expected to do. But then how to explain Cloud's comments? Or was Cloud the one lying? Not as if she could quiz him about SOLDIER much. Best to take him at his word.

So; had Zack been trying to impress her? Maybe. And yet there were still so many little similarities between him and Cloud. Cloud's leap to his feet from the flower bed mimicked a movement Zack made when she first met him (slipped over on the ice in Sector Eight, but he was back up on his feet in moments). The way Cloud dropped what must be SOLDIER slang into conversation was familiar too; and a near inexplicable hint of a Gongagan accent in his voice – one Tifa did not share.

And maybe that had contributed to her initial interest in him. But those elements faded away. Something of a shock how much he changed in retrospect. The aloof, boastful Cloud she met unconscious in the church - the one who insisted she stayed behind for her own safety; that man seemed to evaporate over time. The hint of his accent faded and he sounded increasingly like Tifa. The SOLDIER lingo became increasingly sporadic and dried up entirely. But Cloud was still here; or perhaps he was a different version of Cloud, no longer eclipsed by the first. He smiled a lot more than he had in Wall Market. It wasn't her influence, or anyone else's from what she could see. He and Barret were once typically mere moments from an argument on so many occasions at the point they left Midgar. After the Gold Saucer the two were that much more at ease around the other. Easy enough to attribute that to reveals about Barret's past and the reduction of the burden he carried, but that never seemed to ring true.

Cloud had never been outright cold to any of them, but he had certainly tried to remain distant and uncaring - at first. He kept trying to keep them at arm's length but then at some point over their travels he stopped. Not right away and not consistently for a time, but slowly he let himself simply be with them all. The Cloud she met in Sector Five would never approach her at Cosmo Canyon to assure her he and their friends were with her. Never would have forgiven Yuffie or raced Chocobos for their freedom. An external observer might attribute his actions to simple concern but- No. She had seen him distant and uncaring about the black-cloaked figure would spoke gibberish in Sector Five - and then how differently he reacted to them in Nibelheim. Cloud was in some state of flux. Which begged more questions; why and how had such a thing happened? More to the point what was undoing his act?

Tifa confided how Cloud changed over the course of a day; a cold-hearted mercenary desperate to get moving before undertaking his part of the assault on the Sector One reactor, and then later, capable of handing back what meager savings Avalanche had paid him. There was a performance there on his part - his insistence he wanted more money - but he never asked for payment again. Cloud was still with the group or perhaps they were with him - and did that distinction matter? But his professed desire for solitude, the need to get moving back to his mercenary life was long gone. He was more trusting now; the mere thought of a traitor in their midst was unfathomable to him.

So; Aeris liked Cloud. But she did not simply like the Cloud she first met, the Cloud who fell into her lap. She liked the Cloud he was becoming, the real Cloud. He was attractive enough, but to want to be with him? This new emerging Cloud, the one who would laugh and joke with his companions with increasing confidence, this was the one that interested her. And for now the gradual reveals of the true Cloud was the most fun; she was on her way to meeting the real him.


	10. A Family of Friends

Family - to Aeris - had a tendency to shift its make-up over time. For the parts of her early childhood she could still remember (and more critically the parts she had any desire to revisit), family was her mother alone. Everyone else in her life back then was various grades of hostile and she tried her best to keep them at arms length. Serious offenders ranged from the lab technicians who did their work with varying degrees of uncaring obedience to those who called the shots; Hojo and President Shinra in particular.

Her arrival in Sector Five was a jarring change; a new family, but still oddly similar – a single parent like before in the lab. But far more freedom than ever before. More warmth. Family was once a shield to protect her from the ever thirsty needles and harsh glare of the artificial lights. Now she lived in the twilight beneath the plates; her family was more relaxed although Mom was still someone who was there for her if and when she needed her.

On later reflection, Elmyra must have had about the same idea of how to be a mother that Aeris did in being a seven year-old; little. Despite all Aeris's curiosity and desire to see the world, it was hard to shake learned procedures inherited from her time in Shinra. Little things like staying in her room until escorted elsewhere. The certainty that any attempt to go somewhere outside of normal, approved areas would result in pain and potentially reduced portions at meal times. Food was now so different; trickier still to adjust to meals not on a strict rota. It was a long time until Aeris called Elmyra mom – and longer still until the word no longer fazed the older woman every-time.

Mother and daughter learned how to live together over time as they found the boundaries and specific distances needed to feel comfortable with each other. Mom soon learned that the time before their first meeting was not something Aeris wanted to think much about – a notion compounded thanks to Tseng's intrusion into her new life. Elmyra rebuffed the Turk whenever she could – and Aeris was not about to give him any chance to take her back. Running and hiding in the slums became part of everyday life.

Mom was there for Aeris over the next fourteen years. There to help while she grew into a teenager. There for her to lean on in the aftermath of Zack's disappearance. Zack was a sore spot; though as much as she had cared about him, perhaps even loved him, he was never family. Perhaps he might have been one day; if whatever drew him away had not occurred. If they had been able to spend more time together. Too many ifs. The harsh reality was that even when they were dating, he was often away for long periods – his posting in Junon did not help in that regard. Back then it had not mattered; she had been young and smitten. Back then, if he asked her to marry him she might have said yes without another thought; the same question from him knowing all she did now would have given her pause. Her hypothetical commitment was far less certain. Had life happened differently her family might have grown with him. In the end, nothing came of her time with Zack; an unfulfilled potential.

Aeris could not remember who voiced the notion that modern families were less about actual blood relatives and more about friends. She suspected she would append adoptive parents – and Aeris could never dismiss her connection back to her own mother, but if ever she wanted a larger family- Well. Either she would need to look outside of Midgar for others like her, or assemble said family herself. Her collection of friends in the slums shifted with worrying variance over time; some managed to find a way out of the darkness to live on the Upper plate while others vanished in the night-time. To another human or one of the more monstrous denizens of the city was often unclear. There remained the chance they got back out of the trap that was Midgar, but the odds were slim.

There was no expectation of much from Cloud on the first meeting. He was another SOLDIER, though a rarity given his show of more than a modicum of concern after the mako reactor explosion. Meeting him again was a coincidence, but not unwanted. That he and Tifa would both be similarly lacking a blood-related family like her was a surprise. But the two of them were constructing a new family - a family Aeris was soon drawn into. When they met, Tifa's family was Barret, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge and Marlene; Cloud's was newer and less clear though contained an overlap of people. Sadly Cloud and Tifa's mutual families soon contracted. A pity Aeris met only Wedge for a brief moment; Jessie and Biggs not at all. She barely had a chance to speak to Barret before Tseng whisked her away and yet he was still prepared to risk his life breaking into Shinra with the other the remainder of Avalanche. He, like Cloud, like Tifa, had come for her.

A family of friends. Her family. To Aeris's surprise, she was part of the bedrock of the family. Like any family they had their arguments, had their unconcerned intimacy; the few flushed faces when changing in cramped confines soon ceased. All of them too tired to gawp at anyone else's naked body and hiding away was not worth the time. They all took turns for chores within the group; to cook, to heal up, to forage. The family were not exactly discerning about who joined; though Barret had misgivings about Yuffie – and early on it would have been impossible to imagine the group including Cait Sith. But no matter however disparate or odd the origins of each member of the group, they all soon became part of the family.


	11. Afternoon Delight

Reno was sitting slouched in the window, blowing smoke outside while Aeris lounged on rumpled bedsheets, deeply satisfied. Today was another day she should be out selling flowers; another day when an encounter with the Turk had made coming home while Mom was out far too appealing. They could have gone elsewhere naturally; plenty of love hotels in Wall Market for this purpose. But it was comfortable here, cleaner, more private, and - above all else - free. Plus there was a thrill at sneaking into the empty house so that they could sleep together – and be loud with no risk of anyone overhearing. The Turk glanced from the window, winked at her and exhaled another plume of smoke. Aeris was working up the desire to move – or at least entice Reno to return to the bed and whatever that might lead to – when the front door slammed.

Aeris cursed, and scrambled from the bed, her foot coming down hard on a loose floorboards. It creaked. "Aeris?" her Mom called in the same moment Aeris let out a whispered curse. Little chance of pretending she wasn't here. Reno looked infuriatingly unconcerned.

"Yeah, Mom?"

No reply, but Mom's footsteps were on the stairs. Aeris made frantic hand gestures at Reno and turned to fumble with the lock on her door. She slid the bolt into position with agonising slow movements. There. Breath. "Reno-" she murmured and stopped. The Turk was gone. Aeris blinked. No time to look, but where could he have gone? The wardrobe? Under the bed? Not important right now. Aeris grabbed her dressing gown and pulled it on, sniffing at the air. Was that a trace of cigarette smoke? She might be able to claim she'd gone through an area with a lot of smokers and the smell was clinging to her clothes. Wait. Clothes. Her rumpled, discarded dress and underwear lay scattered across her bedroom floor. Maybe she could get away without opening the door- A creak on the floorboards outside her room; Aeris froze in place.

"Surprised you were in."

Not accusatory, but there was an air of concern in her voice. Aeris bit back her own question regarding Mom's presence at this juncture. "I needed to change." Not enough. She licked her lips. "I slipped over in Sector Eight. Right into one of the gardens." The common assumption was nothing grew in Midgar, though that was not quite accurate. Nothing grew in the slums, except for that which Aeris concerned herself with. The Upper Plate and its denizens on the other hand had the resources to try and keep some vestiges of greenery alive - however expensive, time-consuming and ultimately futile such efforts were. There was something approaching fertile earth up there – imported from outside the city at great expense. Gardeners tended to the soil daily although the plants growing from there were unable to escape a sickly look not present in any of her flowers. Normally there was little point in trying to sell flowers in that area, and normally she would never bother. However she had ventured there before, and it was her best excuse available.

"Oh no!" Mom gasped. "You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

"No, I'm good." She glanced around the room again. Really no sign of Reno. Or his clothes oddly enough. The window was open however. Maybe he had dropped down, but then wouldn't she have heard that? "Just wanted to get cleaned up quickly." Would that be enough? "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Problem with the electrics today so they sent us home." Code for having to be careful with food this week; Mom's company like almost all others in the city was painfully strict with what it was willing to pay it's employees for - and any hour they weren't actively working was one more than they would pay for. That shortfall was something her flowers helped make up. Aeris winced. And here she was indulging herself. "And I got something for you on the way home."

A gift? When they should be frugal? "Mom-" Aeris started.

"I couldn't resist. Want to see?"

Another check of the room. Her clothes still on the floor. She nudged them under the bed with her foot, took a deep breath and opened the door. Mom smiled at her and held out a strip of pink ribbon. "I saw this and thought, that would look wonderful on you. Especially since you can't really wear the old one-" Mom's gaze flicked to her dresser. What was she looking at? Was the box of condoms right in the open or- Her old ribbon; one of the only things Mother had ever been able to gift her in her childhood. Aeris had worn it every day since she arrived in the slums; now it was threadbare and on the verge of fraying apart. It would be nice to start wearing one again. "That's lovely," Aeris took the ribbon, smiling at Mom. "But you really-"

Mom pressed the ribbon into her hands. "Oh hush. We'll cope." She looked inquisitively behind Aeris. "Are your clothes in the wash already?"

One lie and so many things to keep track of. "Oh, no, they're over there-" Aeris waved towards the end of her bed and the obscured, vacant part of the floor. "I'll sort them in a minute."

"I don't mind sorting them-"

"You should relax," Aeris said quickly. "Make the most of the time off."

"Oh. Okay." Mom grinned. "There were some other chores I was planning on taking care of this afternoon. Have you had lunch yet?" Aeris shook her head. "I'll sort some out if you're hungry?"

"Thanks. Just let me get dressed and I'll be right down." Aeris closed the door behind Mom and waited until she descended the stairs before letting out a sigh of relief.

"That was close."

Aeris whirled to see Reno, still smoking, sat in the window in much the same position as before. He was at least dressed this time. "How-"

"Turk," he said and smirked. He nodded to her hand. "What's that?"

"A new ribbon." Aeris gathered her hair together into a messy pony-tale and tied the ribbon around it.

"Looks good on you." He smiled. "So now what?"

"Now I have lunch." She slipped her dressing gown off, Reno's lazy gaze tracking her while she pulled new clothes from her drawers and dressed. Her other clothes would need washing at some point she could sneak them in without Mom wondering where the mud had gone. "And you- You wait here until I can figure out a way to sneak you out."

"Hey." Reno pointed to himself again. "Turk. I'll sneak myself out."

He had admittedly been pretty miraculously invisible mere moments before. "Okay. Sorry about the interruption, I-"

Reno shook his head. "Things happen. Maybe next time we'll have longer..." He trailed off and she could not help the smile at the thought.


	12. Career Plans

Aeris reckoned relationships would be something she got to when she was older. At some point they would make sense, but somehow she never seemed to reach a sufficient age. The concept seemed forever beyond the curve of plausibility. All around her the people she grew up with lusted after other people in a way she did not. She enjoyed making out, but the implied spark from fiction never struck her the way it did other people. She supposed she had not found the right person yet. Or she simply might not think along those kind of lines.

Mom left her alone; unlike certain media cliches she expressed no desperation for grandchildren. Aeris's lack of concern on supposed romantic occasions passed without comment. She had her friends and enjoyed their company. Did she need to pursue anything more? Films and TV loved to push the idea of romances written in the stars, but also loved to demonstrate how becoming romantically close could cause a falling out with both friends and lovers over a long enough time-span.

Fiction of course; real life offered plenty examples of happy couples. Also single-parents who seemed content with no intention of seeking out someone new. This group encompassed both her best friends; Cloud and Tifa had only a single living parent.

Tifa remained the closest Aeris made when she and Mom moved to Nibelheim. They did everything together; clambering up Mount Nibel with Cloud (quickly added to Aeris's group of friends) occasionally in tow, sleep overs every other weekend, sharing everything and near inseparable.

When they reached their teenage years, the need for Aeris and her friends to find their own paths in life became inescapable. Tifa excelled both at navigating the trails across Mount Nibel and cooking. Whenever anyone posed the question to Aeris, her responses rested on her skill at gardening. Tifa made the obvious but not unwanted suggestion she open a flower shop. A fantastic idea; if not for the existing establishment in town - and the owner had no need for any kind of assistant. Not like the inn was crying out for extra staff to work in the kitchens either - and Tifa's expertise on the mountain was in demand.

Contrary to both, Cloud had always made a big thing of his future; he wanted to enroll in SOLDIER. A certain amount of jealousy gave Aeris the idea to also seek out Midgar and SOLDIER. A career path, if nothing close to her dream job. Easy to convince Cloud to let her tag along when he left. And yet it never felt like the right decision - but what else could she do?

Despite the decision, Aeris could not help but note drawbacks with her plan near immediately. She might not enjoy life in the city for one thing. Or she might fail to qualify for SOLDIER. Cloud's assignments could be miles from her. No Tifa to talk to whenever she wanted- Those worries never touched Cloud. He had no desire to look back - only forward to the horizon and the future. At least Tifa was going to journey with them until Costa del Sol.

The trio made good time to Cosmo Canyon. Aeris and Tifa shared a twin room to cut down on the expenses. So nice to have her alone again. Hard to sleep when there was so much to see and do, but exhaustion forced the issue in the end. At least the cold stone of the rooms made dozing off easy. The sticky, sweltering heat of Gongaga left her tired; somehow Tifa slept in the stifling room they shared. Aeris - soaked with sweat and never able to get comfortable - kicked all the sheets to the ground. Sometime later she pulled only the absolute thinnest back over her to prevent the irritating tickle of buzzing insects alighting on her sweat-drenched limbs. Not going back there again - or at least not without a room with air conditioning.

At North Corel Aeris suffered new doubts. Not far from the edge of the continent. Not far until Tifa would head back. The last time the topic came up, it sounded like she would return home soon. The notion hurt more than expected. Aeris wouldn't see Tifa for some time. There might not long until some opportunity arose, but whole months would pass before they could see each other again. Aeris bit her lip, not wanting to worry Tifa.

Not telling Tifa of her worries caused other issues; once they reached Costa del Sol, Tifa took both Aeris and Cloud out for a celebratory meal. Aeris feigned something similar to Cloud's excitement and did perhaps a bit too effective a job. They toasted their success before bed and time was running out at a faster and faster rate. Aeris barely slept; could she tell Tifa everything she wanted to before an ever-widening gap between them? Until the realization. She couldn't go with Cloud. Couldn't bear to leave Tifa behind and continue on with him. She could not try for SOLDIER.

In the early hours of the morning Aeris apologized to Tifa and Cloud, bleary-eyed and detached from the world. Aeris wanted to go home.

Tifa was nothing but supportive of her choice and gave Aeris every assurance she could. They stayed side by side to wave Cloud onto the boat and off to his new life. But despite Aeris's certainty she did not want to try for SOLDIER, it was difficult to shift the notion she had made the wrong choice. A worry, but not insurmountable. If she changed her mind, her opportunity was not gone forever; she could wait for the next boat.

Her feelings remained in flux and they headed home. Slower than the outward trip; no schedule to keep, only an inevitable destination and an eventual need to explain why she had come back. Somehow Tifa never lost her patience with Aeris during this time - and at North Corel, she offered to take Aeris's mind off recent events. Not how Aeris expected but impossible to complain about how Tifa achieved her goal.

Impossible to resist Tifa's kisses nor did she want to stop once they holed up in a room together. The kisses continued until one thing lead to another. They shared the bed - and something in Aeris's perspective shifted. No need to figure out her life right now. This trip - she had enjoyed the trip and the company. What she had not liked was the finality or the destination. So could they keep on going? The route back to Nibelheim became slower and slower, they lingered more and more in their travels and shared a bed every night.

Despite their dawdling, they could not avoid the inevitable. Returning to Nibelheim did not provoke the gut-churning worry heading for Midgar had. Mom accepted Aeris back without protest, though remained bemused Aeris did not now want to stay put. She stayed close to Tifa - now more than ever. They continued sleeping together; they both enjoyed it, so why stop? And everything else grew from there. They both tracked across Mount Nibel, made their way to Rocket Town. They returned to Cosmo Canyon and later explored the North.

Marriage was a logical step. They spent so much time in each other's company - plus there the perks for married couples, so why not? They'd split their time between the parents' house for now; neither keen on settling down yet.


	13. Longest of Long Shots

"This is horrible!" Elena shouted above the howling wind, rubbing at the sleeves of her coat. Behind Aeris the landing craft was already motoring back out to the sub; their temporary home for the last week on this trip to the North. Now a frustrating trek through the snow lay between them and their destination. Gelnikas could not operate effectively at this latitude – nor did Shinra seem willing to construct any kind of base up here. That left the sea, and largely the subs. To look on the positive side of things, the week in transit had given Aeris plenty of time to get to know the newest member of the Turks. On reflection, playing endless hands of cards had not been the best preparation for the weather here.

"What did you expect?" she asked the other woman.

"I know, it's just-" Elena shook her head. "How far?"

Aeris peered at the map, the wind threatening to tear it from her hands. "A few hours away." They had an emergency shelter with them, but staying out here was not an outcome either looked forward to. She took a wobbly step forward, each footfall sinking deep into the snow, her muscles already aching. Elena trailed after her, conversation difficult. At least it was not snowing.

To the south a line of mountains jutted up above the snow, representing one of the known limits of the continent. There were partial maps of the region, but explorers and cartographers always went missing somewhere in the maze of caves and twisted paths there. Further South at the lowest tip of the continent was the Sleeping Forest – the name no kind of exaggeration; those who ventured past the tree line would succumb to exhaustion well before reaching any kind of conjectured half-way point. If lucky, a team from Bone Village would find them and drag them back out. If unlucky- Was there anything in there to feed on them? Something unaffected by the soporific effect? What was in between the trees and the mountains? Perhaps the mountains lead into the forest and there was nothing to find.

A mystery for another time. All she could do was speculate for now; neither Turk was remotely equipped to risk exploration in that area. Elena was talking to her.

"Huh?" Aeris blinked and strained to hear anything over the wind. "Didn't catch that."

"I said, 'Do you really think we'll find anything?'," Elena asked. "That lab's been abandoned for at least two decades."

"Doesn't matter," Aeris said. "Orders are orders."

"Yeah, but-" Elena cut herself off.

Hard not to share her unspoken pessimism about the assignment. All things considered, Elena should be glad this was not one of the less pleasant Turk missions. Forget SOLDIER recruitment; one of Aeris's first tasks was a panicked shoot-out with some anti-Shinra forces in the Midgar slums. Elena should be able to avoid getting her hands bloodied on this mission. As hurried and ill-conceived as it was.

The science division were running out of ideas and fast. Not that anyone had any better plans given the strange situation they were now in. An impossible ghost from the past was back. The impossible return of Sephiroth should have been easy to dismiss, but Palmer was sticking to his story no matter how many times he repeated it. He had seen something - that much was accepted - but whether Sephiroth or something else was still up for debate. Had the alleged ghost killed the president or was someone else responsible? Unknown - and Shinra needed information. Sending people for anything related to Sephiroth's past was the current longest of the long shots.

Reno and Rude had been dispatched back to Nibelheim for what was left of the Jenova project records. That sounded a more sensible and pleasant destination, but Hojo was strangely insistent Aeris be sent here – and Rufus was ready to capitulate to whatever the man wanted. No doubt Hojo was messing with her again. For a time she had been the subject of endless fascination; he cared more for those whispers on the edge of her hearing than she did. They were part of the background of life. Nothing to worry about. But he worried, and wanted to know the voices' source. But if there was a single flaw to Hojo (absurd; the man had a billion) his short attention span topped the list. He no longer considered Aeris endlessly fascinating nor those voices - nothing had been made of them in years.

The voices never spoke in words – or at least any Aeris was familiar with – but were always audible. Here they should be clear above the wind, but for some reason her head was quiet. Strangely both a relief and troubling to be without something that had seemed ever-present in the past. Not something Elena needed to know about either.

* * *

Hours later, the lights of Icicle Inn shone ahead of them, the small town somewhat sheltered from the freezing winds by the landscape. Their rooms at the inn had been arranged in advance – they might be lacking easy transport, but at least there were phonelines here. "C'mon," Aeris gestured further into town when Elena moved towards the inn and their shared room.

"What. Now?" Her face fell.

Aeris shrugged. "We can reconnoitre at least. Saves time if there's nothing worth grabbing. If there is-" Another shrug. "Then we don't have to worry tomorrow."

Elena's eyes widened. "You're actually advocating bunking off?" She grinned. "You?"

Aeris bit back a smile and headed for the relevant building. "I'm lazier than people think."

"You gotta teach me how."

The former lab was a little way down the street, the door near blocked by accumulated snowfall over the years. The power had been cut off long ago; no way to see in here without their torches. The place looked more like a house – a distinction even less clear inside. Or perhaps more accurately, the building had once been a house and was now a lab. No. Somehow it straddled the distinctions. A set of stairs lead down to what looked like a furnished bedroom below ground. "Why did Hojo say the lab was shut down?" The succession of too familiar holes in surfaces and equipment induced a shiver down Aeris's spine.

"Not sure he ever did?" Elena peered at debris on the other side of the room. She sneezed. "Urgh. There's nothing here."

Aeris nodded as she swept her torch across the equipment. And stopped. A set of video-tapes had been jammed in between a VCR and some unfamiliar apparatus. Odd to find them here the lack of any paper and books - not caught by the gunfire. Curious; the write-protect tabs had been snapped off all of them. "Something."

Elena bustled over to her. "Videos?" She looked exasperated. "What's on 'em?"

"Just the date," Aeris replied turning one of the tapes over in her hand. "Might be something useful."

"Maybe," Elena sighed. "At least we found something. Does this mean we need to look again tomorrow?"

"Sadly. Easier to see in the light I suppose." She hefted the tapes. A new thought. She pushed the flap of the VCR open and swore. "There's a tape still inside."

"Want to tear it apart?"

"And risk damaging the tape?" Aeris shook her head. "We better take the whole thing."

Easier said than done. The VCR's power cable and data cables disappeared into the surface it sat on and required a long time shifting furniture and removing panelling. Might have been easier to cut the cables – but impossible to say if they could be easily replaced. They removed the VCR and retreated to separate rooms at the Inn. For some reason sleep seemed determined to evade Aeris that night; her thoughts kept drifting back to that half-lab, half-home. Back to those bullet holes and what they implied about the past. To the lack of voices on the edge of hearing.


	14. Mako Infusion

Pain. Aeris clenched her fists tighter, fingernails cutting deeper. Eyes tight closed since the infusion began, Mako flooding into her blood through the burning needle. New agonies arrived in waves, but despite the searing torture, she remained silent. Hojo always inflicted more pain if he heard her; she grit her teeth.

Something like a year had passed since Mom asked Aeris to wait for her and vanished from the Shinra building. Hojo demanded any hint about her whereabouts every day for two months; no matter how Aeris answered he never believed her. But despite Mom's continued absence, Aeris never stopped waiting or hoping. Something at least to distract from the present-

"It helps to focus on your breathing," said an unfamiliar voice.

Aeris opened one eye, her vision blurry with tears and she blinked rapidly. The older boy with silver hair. The staff seemed careful to keep them apart, but she glimpsed him when not hurried out of rooms in time. He lingered by the door, watching her. "Breathing?" she managed, her throat tight.

The boy approached. "Don't try to fight it. Just focus on breathing." He stopped beside her. Unwilling to try, the pain always pushed her to her limits. No better and no worse than any previous experience, but again almost beyond her tolerance. Almost. The infusions occurred once a month and took agonizing hours to complete. The pain would fade fast enough after, but still an eternity to endure.

"Can't."

"You can," he said firmly. "I didn't want to at first either but-" He pushed one of his sleeves up revealing a succession of familiar scars marring his forearm. "I promise it won't be as bad." Aeris closed her eyes, tensed up and exhaled. The pain surged worse than before and threatened to overwhelmed her. She moaned involuntarily, clamping her teeth together to stop any further sound escaping. "Breathe!" The boy demanded. Aeris took in a shuddering breath and let it out in a sobbing rush. "Okay, try again, but hold it for a count of three. Ready?" Torn between nodding and shaking her head; a new pulse of pain sent her head back hard against the padding beneath her.

"Ready," she managed in a gasp.

"Breathe in." Aeris sucked in a breath. "Hold." Lungs already to burst. "Release." The held breath came out as a splutter again. "And again." He kept repeating the same instructions over and over; she followed the pattern, keeping her inhalations and exhalations in time with his words. Each step became easier with repetition and - remarkably - the pain faded. She chanced opening her eyes, her vision still bleary. "In, hold, out," the boy said.

Her body relaxed, tension dissolving from her back and limbs. "Thank you," she managed between breaths. The short pause in the rhythm sparked an uptick in pain; a few steady breaths and the pain became bearable again.

"You looked like you needed it." He smiled and she smiled back. "You're Aeris, right?"

"Right." She nodded, keeping her speech short. "What's your name?" He said something complicated in reply. Frowning, Aeris tried to sound it out. "Sephy-" He repeated it. "Sephy Roth?"

"More or less," he said, a little uncomfortable for some reason. His gaze flicked to the drip-feed by her side and he took a step backwards. "Not much longer. I should go. Just remember what I told you for next time."

"I will." Aeris bit her lip. "Hey, Sephy? Want to be friends?"

"Friends?" Sephy frowned.

"Yeah. You're the only other kid around, and we both have this…" She pointed at the Mako infusion; Sephy's expression fell. Had she said something wrong?

"This should be a one time thing. I'm not supposed to talk to you," he muttered and Aeris's heart sank. He glanced to the door and sighed. "But maybe. If we keep it secret."

"I can do that. I promise." Giddy at the prospect. "Glad you did talk to me too." The comment made him smile again. "Do, do you know why they're doing this?"

"Not really." Sephy shook his head.

"Me either. None of the adults will tell me." Words familiar through repetition, fragments of off-hand comments but without context; SOLDIER the most common. But why did the lack of a control subject seem to concern so many of the staff here, but never Hojo?

Sephy glanced back towards the door again. "I'd better go. I mean, I'm supposed to be training right now."

"Training?" Something in her future perhaps? Maybe when she got older?

"Yeah. Fighting; swords and stuff."

"Is it fun?"

He shrugged. "I suppose. Better than this or studying. Gotta go though." Sephy wandered away.

"Sephy? Could you come visit next time? Please?"

"I'll... I'll try."

She smiled at him again, and with a last smile back, Sephy ducked out of the room. Aeris settled back against the gurney. To her surprise, the pain already well on the way to fading completely. Tempting to pull the needle out and follow Sephy to his training but she had left it too long. Plus who knew what trouble might result. Next time maybe? If neither got caught.

Aeris lay back, continuing to breathe to Sephy's rhythm. She let her eyes close and waited for the infusion to end.


	15. Turning the Tables

The blade shot through Aeris and erupted out of her chest. The muscles in her legs gave out, the blazing pain in her chest intensifying, every other part of her now numb. What happened? Not a result of Cloud's actions; the gigantic blade of the Buster Sword still lay nearby after tumbling from his grip. How long did she still have? She could still think - if not move - caught between life and death.

A wrench and time moved on. The blade retracted and the fabric of her dress whispered with the movement. A tremor deep inside; a sharpened edge scraped across bone. So abrupt and effortless going in; so awkward when pulled back. An increase in the pain, near indiscernible on top of her existing agony.

Her hair fell about her shoulders, ribbon fluttered to the ground. A chime nearby; something hard striking the crystalline floor and with it other sounds came flooding back. She fell forwards; the floor rushed up to meet her and the air filled with shouts and screams.

It could not end like this. Not so close to success. Not when so much remained to accomplish.

With a strangled gasp she forced her arms out in front of her, bracing for the impact. Her knuckles smashed against the stone, her wrists wrenched in awkward directions, the strain almost collapsing her to the floor. Lucky if she had not broken her hands - or bruised her knuckles. An almost comical notion; both possibilities the least of her worries now.

She clenched her fingers tighter and braced her wrists. A familiar voice whispered her name somewhere close by. Who? Hard to focus and the pain threatened to overwhelm again. She grit her teeth. Needed to get back on her feet. Her back tensed, the shift in posture sparking a new torrent of pain. Had she torn her wound still further? Or by stopping the fall? No matter. Something to deal with later. With a grunt of effort, Aeris pushed her body upright and back onto her haunches, braced for a new agony. It failed to arrive.

Sephiroth stared down at her, his lips twisted into a sneer. "The Cetra are hardier than I expected." The Masamune swept up, ready to strike again. Cloud shouted something, his desperate plea echoed by her friends. Aeris could not move or respond; no breath left in her lungs. Every fibre focused on staying upright. So much for her supposed resistance. Sephiroth's sword arced through the air. Aeris raised her hand. To what end? To ward off the blow? To cast a spell? No chance; a dry mouth and thick tongue rendered her useless.

The sword hit her hand and sliced into her skin. She clutched at it, pain blossoming from her palm, but somehow distant, manageable. Blood trickled down her arm. Sephiroth's former amusement vanished and his face twisted into fury. He pulled at his sword but Aeris clung tight to it. Sephiroth had roamed free and evaded the repercussions of his perversions for too long. She could hang on, keep on going until the settlement of his debt if nothing else. Aeris found a new strength. Her legs recovered first and an odd sense of refreshment flooded through her up to her hand. Her fingers gripped the blade tighter and Aeris pushed the Masamune back, rising to her feet. She refused to let go and Sephiroth stumbled.

The pain dwindled and the flow of blood from her hand slowed to nothing. "You are an enemy of the Planet." Not a new revelation; the man's words clear back in the Temple. But now she understood the intricacies of his plans, the true nature of the form before her. Aeris pushed a now wild-eyed Sephiroth backwards. No. Not Sephiroth; something else. She laughed. "You are nothing more than a puppet." Something perhaps once human but no longer. Whatever the truth, she needed to end the illusion.

Aeris pulled on the Masamune and dragged the puppet closer, her other hand closing around its throat. No pulse there and the thing did not splutter for breath. It squirmed against her grip but she held firm. "I cannot be stopped." One of its hand clawed at her fingers. "You cannot stop me."

"Perhaps." Her cold tone sparked a new fear in the puppet. "But I can deny you this vessel." She tore the Masamune from its hands and sent it sailing somewhere behind her. The fire spell triggered without invocation, a wreath of flame enveloping the thing leaving it shrieking in agony. She held on after it went limp, plumes of black smoke rising into the air. The puppet continued to burn, the blackened remains crumbling into ash.

The soot fell from Aeris's hand; still bloody palm beneath. A wound marred her skin but it no longer hurt, nor did the weakness of before return. She still lived. The assembled members of Avalanche stared at her in shock. Tifa and Yuffie took nervous steps forward, unsure. Aeris smiled. They needed reassurance. They needed a new objective. "We need to head North."


	16. How to Succumb to Wanderlust

Aeris bent with her knees, lifting the chair, careful to not hurt her back during the Eighth Heaven clean-up. Cloud was off doing some maintenance or other, Tifa busy with the washing up. Aeris's other chores long since done, the flower shop already closed for the night, everything watered and ready for tomorrow. One other task remained after clean-up before a good night's sleep. They could afford to stay a few more days here before they moved on - joint wanderlust always kept them moving and they never left home behind. Shocking to think thirty years gone almost without realisation.

The passage of time could only help them. Ageing was a part of life seemingly destined never to arrive for her; years passed but little changed. The worry, the unnerving thought of a time bemoaning a past now lost. To no longer possess the same level of energy or the same interests, or to experience the fading of memories, increased risks to health and limitations on food. Her body no longer the same. Something she would avoid if she could. There were magics, or at least a suspicion certain spells might halt or slow the aging process. But the time to use those tricks never seemed to arrive. Little things changed; her skin seeming to need more moisturizing than she ever remembered, but never a point when everything altered. Until she cleared the threshold. She was old. Well, older.

Grey flecks ran the length of her hair, the edges of her eyes retained permanent crinkles. Limbs were stiffer in the morning and napping became far too appealing most days. More to come, but she had reached this point so slowly the fear of it happening had never struck, and now it seemed a pointless concern. Her wardrobe changed gradually over time to accommodate changes in taste, though her ribbon persisted.

Strange to reflect how quickly she drifted from recognition. Even in the aftermath of Meteor. Even travelling with Cloud and Tifa, the pair responsible for bringing her out of the abandoned Cetra capital. The myth of her – the myth of the Flower Girl who was the Last Cetra and who gave her life for the world – overshadowed her. She could not be Aeris Gainsborough. Aeris was pure, innocent, demure, chaste. Aeris Gainsborough would never get drunk or swear or flirt. Aeris Gainsborough would never laugh like that and would certainly never invite her two closest companions to bed at the same time. Impossible. Nor would she share a bed with both each night. The woman only a little older than the lost Aeris Gainsborough did and therefore could not be her.

It had not been as if she had lied at first either; people asked her name and she replied without thinking. They always smiled with amusement, played along and left with a shake of their head. From rumours her partners overheard, most assumed she was attempting to use her own name to sell her flowers. An interesting idea. But not everyone reacted positively, some taking offence. Absurd. But she needed a new name, though no assumed name ever stuck; Aeris went through a phase of changing her given name on a whim. Soon she learned as the one clearly in charge her designation became the Witch. Sufficient enough, if it did rankle a little. Those most important to her knew the truth.

She might have returned to life, but the world was irrevocably altered by passing beyond and coming back. Food and colours intensified post-resurrection. So too was awareness of the world beneath her feet – and a number of the inhabitants. Like Mom's house. The house Aeris inhabited for near fourteen years had a secret the likes of which she never might have guessed. A tamed monster her mother continued to feed and care for through long years. She reached out to it and it responded. It remembered. It offered a solution to a divided desire; return home to her mother and make up for lost time – and to see the parts of the Planet she was unable to previously. Cloud, Tifa, Aeris and Mom could travel together. Little tied Mom to the devastated Midgar and its environs any longer. Neither Cloud nor Tifa had a home. So, Mom's home became their home.

Aeris finished stacking the chairs on the table and ventured back towards the kitchen. A stack of appliance manuals, bags of loose change and odd socks lay on a shelf. Aeris swept a selection up and placed them in a specific, marked cupboard with a smile. The house was old too; it needed it's strength to get them to their next destination.


	17. Taking Up the Sword

Cloud's eyes widened. The Buster Sword tumbled from his hand and landed with a metallic clang on the platform behind him. Aeris tried to move, her knees numb from long hours spent in prayer. Cloud took a step forward and she followed his gaze- He lunged forward and slammed into her; she tumbled backwards, her head bouncing off the stone floor. Head throbbing, she barely noticed a rush of movement nearby. A metallic screech split the air, a faint whimper the only sound in the aftermath. Hard to focus past the throb where her skull collided with the floor. A scream echoed in the stillness.

"The Puppet severed its strings?" Sephiroth. Sephiroth here.

Aeris forced her eyes open. Their quarry towered over her, staring down at something. No. Oh no. Cloud Strife lay pinned to the ground by the glinting arc of the Masamune. Aeris got her legs under her and ignored the pain; beyond Cloud Avalanche stood with shocked expressions. Tifa rushed forward, Yuffie on her heels, Cait Sith held Barret's arm as he tried to level it at Sephiroth. "Cloud?" Aeris choked out. He might not be dead. He could survive this.

No response. No sign of movement from his body, no hint of breathing. And now a widening pool of blood spreading out from beneath him. Sephiroth withdrew his sword, flecks of blood splattering against the stone. "An unexpected development." He smiled, gloating. "But for all his efforts he bought you little more than scant moments." He drew his arm back, the long blade now pointed right at her.

"Move," she muttered in a frantic whisper. Sephiroth's arm twitched and she dived under his sword thrust. A whisper of metal through air. She did not have time to check if it caught her. Her movement took her over Cloud's body to the fallen Buster Sword. She could have seconds to act. Foosteps too distant behind her, her other companions too far away to help. Too much risk for Barret or Vincent to open fire; they might hit her or Cloud. No choice. She grabbed the sword and invoked a Cure spell.

Most materia users seemed to only use Cure spells to reform and repair a damaged body, to set bones and stem bleeding. Tifa was amongst the minority who had discovered it provided an excellent method of combatting tiredness. The spell could not eliminate the issue completely, only delay it. Eventually continued usage would make the subject crash and crash hard. Limited but vital at times. All of Avalanche had made use of the capability on long nights to keep watch out in the wilderness – and she resorted to the same solution to keep on going for her journey here, to endure the sheer amount of time needed to contact the Planet.

There were further uses and right now offered the only possible frantic solution. More than mend and restore. It could build up and improve. More muscle, more strength; she invoked that aspect of the spell now and heaved the massive sword up.

Not practiced with this, but perhaps it would be enough for now. She raised the Buster Sword; the Masamune crashed against the blade, the impact sufficient to knock both swords apart. Every muscle in Aeris's arms and back strained; she hauled the sword back in front of her and held it steady. Sephiroth regarded her and glanced past her. The footsteps closer now. "Do not think this is over. You still failed in your duties."

"I did not fail." She delivered her words with an insistence she did not feel.

Sephiroth merely smiled in response. He glanced at Cloud once more, took a step back and rose high into the air, disappearing into the gloom at the top of the cavern. Aeris could not move, not yet, waiting, ready for his return. Her arms ached. Somewhere nearby a strangled sob brought her attention back to the present. Tifa knelt beside Cloud's lifeless body, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Aeris let the sword crash to the floor; she sank down onto her knees beside Tifa. The Planet's voice raged in her mind; she had succeeded in her mission but somehow the threat remained. Something was still wrong; the Planet expected more of her. Aeris pushed the thoughts away and embraced Tifa, the other girl sobbing into her shoulder. Murmured conversation around them. Time swirled without meaning.

In the end, Tifa carried Cloud's body back up the spiralling crystal stair. Aeris considered leaving the Buster Sword as a marker for its former owner, but decided against it. More fitting to use the blade to strike back at Sephiroth. Aeris slung the sword over her shoulder and followed the funeral procession.


	18. No-Life Queen

Becoming a vampire was more work than expected. She should be dead - of this Aeris was certain. The bullet had passed right through her and she had lost far too much blood to possibly survive. But here she was, sitting up in an unfamiliar bed. The situation was complicated a little by the fact that the one who shot her was none other than her vampiric sire. There should be rules about creating other vampires - as in forbidding putting your protoge into mortal peril and after offering them a chance at continuing regardless. As was the case with Vincent Valentine. He had not shot her to make her like this; a grisly necessity when hunting the guy who had her arms twisted behind her back and a knife to her throat. Aeris was still dead though. Well. Something like dead. Now she was-

The bullet wound was long gone and her canines longer. Sharper too; running her tongue across them once she noticed scored a bloody groove into her tongue. The pain was oddly distant and the wound did not last long. Vampires must not be the type to waste blood all things considered. Diffferent now. Different from when she was... living? Only now did the term undead not seem to fit her situation. All the terms she knew for her predicament came from old horror movies - and the occasional trashy romance novel. None of them mentioned the sharpness of fangs.

Distracted too easily. Aeris was considering what to do when Vincent walked in. Vincent had not used the door. Or a window (none visible). Nor something absurd like a trap door, a serving hatch or a dumb waiter. No, Vincent melted through the wall in a way reminiscent of slightly under budget sci-fi and fantasy TV programs.

"You have awoken," Vincent intoned in a now familiar deep voice. A more poetic person might have described it as akin to grave stones slamming together, but he sounded a lot like a certain famed voice actor. What was his name- "You are hungry?"

Aeris blinked. Ravenous now he mentioned it. A yawning pit of hunger, a need to eat the likes of which she had not felt before. "Yes." Her teeth clicked together, lips sliding across the unfamiliar fangs. These would take some getting used to.

Vincent grinned, his expression stretching to close to absurd. There was a sense of shallowness to it, a superficiality. A thin layer stretched over something else. It passed. "Then let us elevate you to a new no-life Queen. We will begin the hunt."

"Hunt?" Her stomach gurgled. "I was thinking some chips or something?"

The smile faded from Vincent's face. "You are but a fledgling; you need blood. Nothing else will sate you. Nor can you digest anything but blood now."

Aeris fidgeted. "Not keen on drinking blood. Not sure I can."

Vincent held her gaze for too long and shrugged. "You can try and hold out. Best not to. The agency has blood supplies on hand-" A new feral look entered his eyes. "-to diminish the risk of accidents. But sooner or later you will succumb to the thirst. If you wish to survive in this agency of vampire destroyers, you would be best placed not to feed on any of the employees."

"I'll take my chances." Her stomach gurgled treacherously once more; she needed to eat something and soon. She might be a vampire, but she was not about to succumb to stereotypes. Plus the rest of her life without garlic? Too much to bear.

"I had more hope. Is there nothing of the true vampire that can entice you?" Vincent raised an eyebrow questioningly. "To shift forms at will? To be beyond death, beyond life? To sire your own vampiric children?"

Children were not something she had thought of much before. Wait. "You can shift forms?"

Vincent chuckled. "Oh yes." Again a sense again of a lack of depth to him. Or a lack of depth to a thin veneer with the appearance of a man in a red cloak. Something lurked beyond the projection. Something vast and perhaps terrible. "This is not my favoured appearance; but it remains one that causes the least issues here." It sounded intriguing. But it circled back to the blood. "Come. If we are not to hunt, then we should at least meet Ms Lockhart."

"Ms Lockhart?" Aeris cocked her head to one side.

"My master; our commander." Vincent whirled around and vanished back through the wall. Aeris stumbled from the bed, her legs weak and unsteady- And straight into the wall.

"Ow." Aeris rubbed at her nose. Seemed walking through walls was a no-life Queen thing. She would need to use the door. At least for now.


	19. Materia Manager Aeris

Life as a magical girl became complicated. Not that Aeris had initially realised that was what she now was – it had taken an observation from Tifa to bring her up to speed. And that only after Tifa caught sight of Aeris flying through the air on her staff during her first Materia Management mission. The next day her friend pelted her with questions – thankfully discretely – regarding her mission and powers. And took the sight of the diminutive guardian of the spheres Nanaki in her stride. "You've become a magical girl," Tifa said with a certain amount of glee.

As long as she was not the kind of magical girl who faced decapitation in episode three, that was fine with Aeris. The real-world version of the fantasy was more mundane. She had magical powers – accessed via the materia orbs. She had a familiar – who preferred eating and video-games to anything outright fantastical. She could fly – with her staff and one of the tiny number of materia she currently possessed. But her clothes did not magically change when she used her powers. That revelation disappointed Tifa, but she rallied at speed and somehow found the time to tailor a gigantic wardrobe of costumes for Aeris to wear.

Hard to resist her – as much as it would have been better to wear something low-key and avoid drawing attention. Tifa was having none of that. "You need to dress like a magical girl. And-" Tifa withdrew a video camera from her bag. "I will be the one to document your adventures." This did not seem an overly good idea; Nanaki warned not all the materia as easy to capture as the first few. Some might be actively hostile. There was a risk involved – one Aeris was not wild about exposing Tifa to. Tifa, however, insisted on being present at all the missions. Harder still to turn down what was on offer. The costumes might seem an unnecessary accessory, but the company was helpful and it was impossible to overstate the helpfulness of someone else present who wasn't scrambling for materia. Tifa had made some vital observations and suggestions of action on Aeris's second ever attempt to reclaim a piece of materia.

So the arrangement continued; Tifa would document and fund Aeris's escapades while Aeris would get down to the actual reclaiming materia.

While things would have been much easier if she had never looked in the basement that day, never disturbed that heavy tome of Mom's with rank upon rank of spheres in settings and seen them disperse out of sight – the magical girl stuff was actually fun. It ate into free time, and occasionally caused issues during daytime. So far she had avoided anyone finding out; another element Tifa insisted on. Magical girl identities were secret and carefully guarded. Who knew how her opponents might use her friends and family against her. Not that she had opponents per se; the materia was sentient to a point, but it was not like there was some master-mind living down the street with his own familiars and unsubtle villainy. Of far greater risk was anyone in her family finding out. Especially her brother Reeve who kept asking awkward questions and would tease her to the ends of the Planet if he knew. At least when he was around Vincent would often follow. The older boy would normally leave Aeris feeling mushy and warm; and unlike Reeve's dismissive nature he always had time to talk to her.

Perhaps the balance in her life was for the best (she lost few occasions to talk to Vincent). There was no way Nanaki knew of seeking out the lost materia outside of simple proximity, and he was more than willing to wait until Aeris ran across one piece or other. Each one she found became 'hers', a new spell to call upon as necessary. Some instrumental in capturing other materia. Others simply curious spells of debatable use. All written by the Great Witch Ifalna, Nanaki had explained through a mouthful of cake. She would manage Maeria when she found it – usually when strange and supernatural events occurred in and around the mountain town of Nibelheim.

Life as a magical girl became complicated. And as of the current materia hunt, more complex. The water materia residing inside the water tower should have been more obvious (Tifa was quick to note such an entity could easily be living in the sewers – Aeris was glad it was not), and capturing it was not entirely straight-forward given its fluid nature. And she thought wind tricky. But that was before the new arrivals. She had almost herded the water into a freezer to reform the materia sphere when a boy and girl wandered into the conflict. She shouted a warning to them, but neither paid any heed, the boy casting his own spells. Turned out they were here for the materia too; a rival manager in the form of the overly stern and dismissive Cloud. And with him to assist was his fiancee Yuffie. Life seemed determined to get more complicated. And if she was a magical girl, did that make Cloud a magical boy?


	20. Double Act

Tifa taught her the song beside a camp-fire out in the wilderness. Somewhere past Kalm, the two of them alone. Tifa had hummed a few bars of the tune and Aeris asked her what it was. "Something my mother used to sing to me back home. Never heard it anywhere else."

"It's nice." Aeris stared up at her, chin resting on her hand. "Just a tune or are there words?"

"Words too." Tifa closed her eyes and sang, the language, the accent strikingly unfamiliar now. Such beauty though, the way the words sounded though the meaning was beyond Aeris's understanding. Her friend stumbled over the lyrics and stopped when she opened her eyes and found Aeris still staring at her. "Sorry. Not used to an audience for that."

"That was Nibel then?" Tifa nodded. "People always talk about Midgar as this great meeting place of culture and language but-" Aeris shook her head. "Now I think about it, people all sound the same there. I've never heard anything like that."

Tifa shot her a rueful grin. "A long time since I last had occasion to speak it. So thank you for that if nothing else."

"Could you maybe teach me?"

"Sure." Tifa glanced around. "Never done that before so, ah, I apologise if I'm no good at this."

Aeris shuffled closer. "You'll be fine."

Tifa scratched at her cheek. "Okay. So, maybe we should start with the real basics. Like saying 'Hello'."

Learning the language took time - something the pair of them had in abundance. So much of Nibel was different to Standard. Word order, particles, word-gender. All of it new and strange to Aeris. She could sing Tifa's song at least; a pidgin-Nibel rendition. Tifa could explain some of the meaning of the song. And the meanings of some of the individual words, but there was something missing. Something was not translating between Nibel and Standard.

Disaster struck a week after they left Costa del Sol behind them. Both sufficiently skilled at fighting to deal with most monsters they encountered in the wilderness, though superior numbers were hard to defend against. And on one such occasion, a wolf-like creature took a liking to Aeris's bag and tore through the fabric before she could get near it. That forced them to share a tent for the nights that followed. But arriving in North Corel revealed another issue; their money was gone. A light-fingered resident in Costa del Sol? Some chance accident on the hike over?

The reason did not matter; there remained the issue of what to do now. Aeris hit upon the idea of performing - one Tifa swiftly rejected. "I can't sing in front of people." She was trembling. "I have trouble singing in front of you."

"I know." Aeris touched her arm. "Though you have a lovely voice and we could duet and it would be amazing." She carried on as Tifa opened her mouth to protest. "But I was thinking that I can't play an instrument and you can. So how about, I sing, and you accompany me?"

"Piano?" Tifa glanced at her hands and flexed her fingers. "It's been a long time. I might not be any good."

"I can't think of many other ideas for our situation," Aeris shot back. "I think this one would work."

Neither wanted to ask for help from those back home - and a whole new level of complication in addition. Tifa soon agreed and Aeris sought out the owner of the inn to negotiate a fee and time to perform. Not a wonderful deal in money terms, but it was the best Aeris could manage through a combination of charm and persuasion. Some money for the performance and the opportunity to sleep in the attic. Warmer than sharing the tent. That arrangement would need to persist until they could afford a replacement. Comforting to have Tifa there beside her each night. Sometimes it meant less sleep than intended as they murmured to each other until the early hours of the morning.

Tifa seemed nervous in the run up to their first performance; Aeris assured her everything would be fine. All she needed to do was play; Aeris would try and draw all their attention. Aeris sang as best she could that first night; the inn fell silent, all eyes on her as she sang. But when Aeris sang the Nibel song and her gaze met Tifa's, the other girl's face reddened. She refused to explain until bedtime when they holed up in the attic.

"It's-" Tifa's face flushed again. "It has a few meanings. One of them is-" She took a deep breath. "-for courtship." Aeris blinked; Tifa seemed to be waiting for her to say something. "If you sing it to someone- I mean, I know you didn't mean it like that, but it kind of meant-"

"Would you mind if I did mean it like that?" Aeris's tomach lurched at her own impulsive question.

Tifa was silent and for an awful long time it seemed Aeris had said the wrong thing. "No. I wouldn't mind in the slightest."


	21. Fury Brand

The fight was gruelling. Aeris, Tifa and Cloud fought back to back as hordes of Touch-Mes swarmed them. Not the most deadly of enemies, but each monster represented a unique and troublesome risk. Transmuting into frog-form was a weird experience at the best of times but otherwise harmless. Right now it would be hard to distinguish an enemy frog from a transformed companion. Gongaga was a pain; who lived here with this many creatures that could warp someone's shape with one touch? Aeris growled as she swiped at the Touch-Me flying towards her.

Frogs were okay – normally. And none of this was the Touch-Me's fault; Aeris, Cloud and Tifa didn't have to take this path through the jungle, didn't have to head for the small lake and disrupt the whole mass of them. The creatures lived out their lives without disturbance for the most part. But if someone did disturb them- She blinked and held her staff up at eye level; the Touch-Me rebounded off of it and fell to the ground. Stunned or dead? Stunning was preferable, but the things might wake up and that was a new level of complication.

Her arms burned with the effort of movement, her back stiff. Her offensive spells were long since exhausted and it was long minutes since any of them had said more than two words to each other. How much longer could they carry on? All it would take was one missed attack, one touch of clammy skin- And the misjudged point when one of them would mistake the green creature right beside them for an opponent. Might be best to suggest if caught they leap into the mass and hope for the best. Becoming a frog was certainly more appealing than death.

Aeris swiped her staff in an arc, knocking a whole pack of Touch-Mes into the long grass. How smart were they? Did they have the capacity to try for a back attack or were they swarming? If only they had an opening they might be able to get out of here and leave the creatures to their own devices. No such luck here. Deep throb of pain in her head. The air was too muggy, and every movement was making her hotter. Her clothes soaked in sweat, the staff slick beneath her palms. Her shoulders were stiff, her mouth parched. All she wanted to do was scream and kill everything in a wide vicinity. But no magic; no way to rain down magical fire or ice. No way to summon anything.

She clutched her staff, willing one of the spells to trigger, the incantations frustrating in their familiarity and absence from her mind. The curse of materia learning; no way to complete the invocations without it. But something else stirred. A trickle of sensation seeping up out of the ground. Similar to when the flowers would bloom in the garden and at the church. Energy from the Planet. Enough to keep her going? No. The energy did not refresh her, it simply built, rising up through her in a wave. The sounds of the fight faded, the heat blissfully relented and- A spell. There was a spell in her mind; a complex chain of words and meanings. No, it was like a chemical formula, a mathematical equation. No, it was something akin to the shifting fragments of language she glimpsed on a computer screen once. No. Magic.

But not the same as materia magic. There was a sense of possession to this, whatever it was, the invocation clear and somehow so obvious now. What it would do was not clear, but at this juncture it was hard to care. Aeris murmured the invocation, the language as unfamiliar as all spells, but somehow she formed a connection between Cetran and Standard. Fury Brand.

Power surged from her hands; she directed it towards the mass of Touch-Mes, but instead it curled back, flowing around her and enveloped her companions and it seemed possible she had doomed them both. Aeris risked everything and reached out trying to take back her actions- Cloud and Tifa brightened. Tifa's posture improved and she smiled. A split-second later she darted forward, moving almost faster than Aeris could see. She chained together a litany of martial arts moves; flipping, whirling, chopping, kicking, punching. Touch-Mes flew in all directions, flung back into the jungle. Not one landed a strike on Tifa.

Cloud remained stationary, but crouched lower, his sword wreathed in ragged blue fire. He swung in a wide arc – none of the Touch-Mes close enough to hit, but it did not matter. An arc of blue blasted out, chopping through flora and fauna indiscriminately. A gap in the Touch-Mes; an escape.

Aeris called Tifa back and the three of them raced into the jungle. Later they would ask what she did and Aeris would reply she was not sure. But that spell still remained in her mind. Not something to do on a whim – she was more exhausted now than before, but when needed, it would be tremendously useful.


	22. Lumberjanes

Coming to camp was an amazing, awesome idea. This truth was evident from the beginning of Aeris's time at Miss Edea Crescent Grimoire Valentine's Camp for Hardcore Lady Types when assigned to Leviathan cabin and met her fellow Lumberjanes. That same truth got steadily more evident from there. Her new friends were absolutely amazing.

There was Tifa - a little shy at first, but soon warmed to her. Aeris thought about Tifa a lot and always sought to sit beside her when the opportunity arose. To her delight, Tifa seemed to think along the same lines. This was not Tifa's first time at the camp, but it was her first visit with Yuffie – the younger and hyperactive girl who loved all animals and food and physical exertion. There was Jessie who liked dense tomes about computer programming and quantum physics – but was also most definitely the most awesomest cook Leviathan cabin had to offer. Rounding out the younger part of the cabin was Elena, who seemed overly taciturn and serious when she first arrived. That lasted until the end of their first adventure – a rambling and complex affair involving a buried Elder Gods from Beyond the Stars – when it became clear Elena was into adventure, excitement and friendship as the rest of them.

The nature of their adventure was not universally acknowledged. Despite persistent protests, their assigned older Counsellor Lucrecia insisted on calling the epic adventure that time the five of them got lost in the woods and nearly gave her a heart-attack. This was despite the camp leader Elmyra almost certainly having become involved or seen enough of what happened to believe the Lumberjanes' side. Elmyra always seemed to unnerve Lucrecia (and she got annoyed with Elmyra persistently calling her Lucy) and her presence or involvement was never taken seriously as evidence for anything – except as a possible reason to head in the opposite direction.

Lucrecia was keen on them sticking to the rules and an absence of the supernatural from day to day life. The stance often seemed to involve not seeking out mystery, helping others (for others read: other Lumberjanes, animals, dinosaurs, and the nicer of the mystical beings from beyond the stars). Leviathan cabin didn't exactly want to cause her stress, but they also didn't exactly want to not resolve the latest mystery they had stumbled across. Plus there was more opportunity for rarer badges if they engaged in mystery solving (itself a specific badge, but it was curious how well it seemed to serve as a gateway to more badges. Aeris had eighteen already and likely going to need at least a second sash before the summer was over). Not that Elmyra's recommended or attempted enforced activities did not come with their own share of badge acquisition; never the same though.

At nights Aeris would lounge on her bunk (she got the upper one; Tifa was in the one below) and re-read the Lumberjanes handbook, pouring over the various badges and the requirements for each. The day-time was largely unstructured offering the Lumberjanes the opportunity to seek out whatever badges they wanted, though some helpful opportunities had already past – organised by other counsellors well versed in the relevant skill-set. That was okay; so many hundreds of other potential activities. The best were clearly the ones that took them out into the woods; opportunities for adventure there. From the disappearing Mount Nibel to that red cat that Yuffie insisted had talked to her and whom they had all (including Lucrecia) seen on numerous occasions, there were many mysteries and opportunities. Elena had mentioned some strange ruins, glimpsed on a pursuit or when fleeing – so difficult to keep all the events straight.

Eventually her eyelids would droop and Aeris closed the handbook. Around her the other Lumberjanes slumbered in the dim light of the cabin. Out in the woods the owls would hoot and that might have been the distant howl of a wolf of some kind. Aeris would settle back into her bed, head still whirling with ideas and suggestions for the next day, for new adventures. Maybe they would explore the cavernous opening below the mountain, the tunnel punctuated with materia growths at regular intervals. Or try for a sailing badge on the lake and try to avoid the shapes that flitted beneath the surface. Maybe they could go looking for that red creature again. Or perhaps stay closer to camp for a change; weapon forging remained a tempting proposition. Anything and everything was possible. Smiling, Aeris drifted off to sleep.


	23. Weed

Aeris Gainsborough was the flower girl from Sector Five. Despite the miraculous quality of her flowers, how fresh and how good they smelt, she was little known outside of the Sector. The rich on the upper plate in Sector Eight knew of her from the times she sold her flowers there. But she was easily lost in the slums; no angel of slums like some girl over in Sector Seven. A mild curiosity about who had earned such a name. Not important; becoming easily lost in the crowd was all to her advantage after all. She grinned as she uprooted another few flowers.

Few would guess at how little effort she put into growing the flowers. Most would have the impression of her as a tireless worker, someone who toiled day and night to keep her flowers growing. That in itself was impossible for most; the impression from those aware of her was that she struggled to perform such a minor miracle – that a lapse in judgement would bring her entire enterprise and her garden into ruin. They were at least partially right; losing the flowers would bring her enterprise into ruin, but they were not her focus.

How much effort did the flower girl have to put in to grow all these vibrant flowers? How much effort to make them blossom and produce such amazing floral scents? How special was she? Special enough that growing flowers took practically no effort at all. The Planet took care of the growth for her – a lesson soon learned after early experiments in Mom's garden. Break up the soil, plant the seeds, murmur the phrase her mother taught her years ago, give them some water and wait. A few days later, the latest seeds would sprout and provide another cluster of flowers.

Enough flowers for now. Aeris swiped her hands on a rag, paused to survey the garden again. Some more soil on that edge would work – and if she took those flowers to the Upper plate, she could probably charge double for them. Some extra money at least. She wandered through the door and into the back of the church – and the true heart of the operation. The second set of flower beds lay hidden down on the level below the main floor of the church. Getting down required a certain amount of clambering and leaping to avoid the broken sections of the staircase. So far this seemed to have proved a sufficient deterrent against anyone locating the more secretive garden.

Aeris disguised the padlocked door as best she could manage; despite the stillness in the main church, old habits forced her to look around before unlocking the door. The thick smell of her crop rolled out as she opened the doors. The weeds grew in long rows, the plants towering up almost as high as the heat lamps. While the garden above could rely on the sunlight that found its way beneath the plate, these required artificial stimulation. Almost absurd to put any effort into growing these plants; their slang name was incredibly apt. They were weeds and would grow if left to their own devices. With her influence, the plants would be taller than her within two days.

All she had to do was prepare and dry the leaves and distribute the results into various sized bags. Her garden served as a good cover for how long that stage took – more effort than growing any of the plants involved. The flowers gave her a reason to talk to strangers in the street and for strangers to seek her out. Easy to hide other things beneath the colourful flowers – and beneath a fake bottom on the wicker basket she carried over one arm. The strong floral scent helped mask another, more suspicious smell.

Aeris Gainsborough was the flower girl from Sector Five if you saw her. If you knew her – or knew a friend of a friend who knew her – you would know that asking to buy a certain variety of flower would not necessarily get you the right species. But clasped against the stem would be a plastic bag with her other product. Aeris had never tried the stuff herself; something about not making use of your own product – a motto she adhered to. But the people of Midgar wanted it – some insisted it was all that could get them through the day – and that her specific blend was the best anyone had ever tried. She charged more for those on the Upper Plate – to her initial surprise, she sold more of the weeds to them than anyone in the slums. Money for little effort; who was she to refuse them?


	24. The Last Cetra

Aeris Gainsborough was the last Cetra. Until she wasn't any longer.

Vivid and strange, the world abruptly smaller, quieter and peaceful. She still breathed (inhale, exhale), still knelt at the edge of the dirt mound in the broken church in Sector Five. The preceding sensation came again; a sense of pressure, her ears popping as a wave of something passed over her. Her head spun and the room threatened to pitch her to the floor. A sensation of freezing cold the length of her spine, a warming heat in her cheeks, the air abruptly too hot around her. The second occurence was as short as the first, fading away leaving her with a light and inexplicable sweat.

But she was different now. The whispering voice of the Planet diminished and faded to nothing. The surge of Lifestream energy she coaxed into the flower mound was gone. Or perhaps not gone; perhaps she could simply no longer sense it. Silence. No, not silence. The distant sound of wind through the shattered remains of Midgar. The distant drips of burst pipes and falling water. Faint stirrings of scavengers – both human and inhuman – out in the surrounding sectors. But so little in her head.

She was empty. Those strange quirks and those things seemingly making her something more than human were gone. Her mother's voice was gone. Would the flowers suffer? Could they continue to grow without her influence? A minor concern right now. The Last Cetra was no more – and the Cetra cared for the Planet. She did what she could but at such a small scale. Hard to do anything more when there was only one of her.

No one had ever said anything, but the thought remained; she was the only one who might be able to prolong the Cetra race. Not an appealing idea. Some likely thought her selfish for not becoming a mother, but she was not ready – might not ever be ready – to parent. Was it possible she was no longer required? A weight lifted. No. It would not do to get ahead of things. All she could be certain of was she could no longer hear the Planet – and her skill with plants would reside on a much more mundane ability than before. This might be temporary; influenced by the movement of tectonic plates, an eclipse on the other side of the Planet, a meteor shower – something. It could be some unlooked for vestige of Sephiroth in the Lifestream.

Perhaps things would pass, perhaps the Planet's voice would return and she would be again looked to for her heritage. Little concern for her own aspirations and dreams. Her knees ached; she had not moved since the event occurred. With a groan she rolled onto her feet and got up. The flowers would cope for now; leaving them as they were for today would not – should not – cause irreparable harm. She needed time to think, time to adjust to these changes.

Aeris wandered back home to Edge, slower than normal and empty handed. The shift between the dead city of Midgar and the living city of Edge was less clear-cut than before, but the presence of more people was welcoming. The world carried on around her; the world did not seem concerned about her change. A few familiar faces on the way; she smiled and nodded, her face more mask-like, hiding the churning thoughts beneath.

Marlene greeted her eagerly when she reached the Seventh Heaven. All Aeris wanted was to sit at the bar and drink until this feeling faded. Something to distract her from the changes. But Marlene insisted, proud, so proud of something outside. Tifa shot her a sympathetic smile as Marlene tugged at her hand. It seemed as if Marlene wanted her to use her ability to grow something. How to break the news to her when Aeris was as yet uncertain how to broach the subject to Cloud or Tifa?

There was a pile of dirt in the corner of the yard, dotted here and there with green growths. Marlene let go of Aeris's hand and asked her to keep watching. She crouched beside the pile, tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth, her brow wrinkling as she stared at the dirt. Realisation came with Marlene's success; as soon as she reached her hand out over the dirt. A green stalk sprouted from the ground. Marlene grinned at Aeris; Aeris for her part expressed amazement and applauded the effort.

The Planet had no need of the Cetra. Or perhaps the Cetra were not truly a race, but more a state of mind. The Planet would have its guardians still. Avalanche of course, but who amongst the youngest of them would now gain the ability to do as Marlene? Who could say? The pressure came again; the Planet whispered in her head once more.

Aeris Gainsborough was formerly the Last Cetra. Now there were others.


	25. Underwater Garden

Aeris knocked on the door and waited, her stomach in knots. She was merely here to return Tifa's clothes and pick up her own. She was not going to try and get a read on Tifa's feelings towards her. No way. Yesterday a pleasing spark of attraction, a sense the other girl might be into her as well. Before Aeris introduced her new friend (the one she thought was a damsel in distress and actually wound up saving Aeris) to the rest of the group. Before she discovered Tifa and Cloud sort of knew each other.

Well. Cloud recognised Tifa, utterly relieved she was alive. The reveal put Tifa into a more defensive posture, something about her responses a little off as Cloud waxed lyrical about not having seen her in five years. Not since the fire. And that was why Tifa's name bothered Aeris. Cloud's friend - the one he met up with in Nibelheim before Sephiroth torched it. The one he was sure had died. The one Jessie had borne an uncanny resemblance to in disguise when she found Cloud barely coherent near the train station in Sector Seven.

The presence of Tifa seemed to split Cloud's attention; he and Jessie had some strange connection neither was entirely able to articulate - part of whatever possessed Jessie to try and sneak into Don Corneo's mansion leading to her meeting with Aeris. But now he focused on Tifa, so pleased he could see her again. As guarded as Tifa remained, she related a brief corroborating version of the same events - with a coda revealing her awakening in the resort town with little idea of how she got there. No home for her to go back to; no desire to cross the sea to either of Shinra's strongholds.

It was possible meeting Tifa was a bad thing. For Cloud anyway; some long conversation between him and Jessie in a low voice in the hallway outside the shared room last night. They were still crammed into the same bed this morning when Aeris snuck out and made her way back here, Tifa's clothes neatly folded and washed. What was she hoping from this? Not something she was about to admit - for a stranger met only yesterday. And for whom the presence of Cloud was distracting.

Aeris straightened up as the door clicked. Tifa blinked at her, toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, scratching vaguely at something high under her shirt. "Oh, hey," she muttered around the toothbrush and grinned. She darted away from the door, gargled and spat somewhere out of sight of the door.

"I brought your clothes back," Aeris replied, keeping her feet in the hall as she leant a little way into the condo.

"Thanks." Tifa rushed back out of one room and into another. A mechanical clunk and a muttered curse floated out. "You, er, didn't have to come so soon." She stuck her head out of another room. "Your clothes are still drying."

"Oh, that's okay. I can come back later." Or she could invite her to breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. Or ask her to show her around the town or- Anything. "Thank you again. For yesterday."

Tifa blinked. "It's fine. Glad you're okay. Hey-" She frowned. "How long are you in Costa del Sol?"

No specific time; they were resting up mid-journey with no specific destination in mind as yet. Following clues to Sephiroth. They could not stay too long for fear of losing him, but neither did they yet have any idea of where he now was. "Ah, not sure. I think soon?" What did she have to lose? "A bit longer anyway. And after yesterday, I still don't know my way around the town that well. Are you busy today? I mean; is there any chance that you could show me the sights or something?"

Agonising pause as Tifa considered. "Sure." She grinned again. "You and the rest or just you?"

"Just me." Aeris shifted her feet. "Everyone else got a chance while I was sleeping - and while you were rescuing me."

Tifa nodded. "Sounds good. Give me, like, half an hour to get cleaned up and I'll show you whatever you want."

"As long as that won't interfere with your job."

"Nah. Not like I work set hours," Tifa replied.

Aeris chuckled. "Allows for a lot of freedom."

Tifa smiled and nodded. "What do you do out of interest? Aside from trying to rescue people and your current quest?"

"Believe it or not, I used to sell flowers." Aeris waited for the exclamation, but it did not come.

"Do you like flowers?"

Aeris frowned. "Yes?"

"Ever seen the ones underwater?" Tifa shook her head. "What am I asking. You don't know how to swim."

"I think I'd like to learn." Aeris cocked her head to one side. "Underwater flowers?"

Tifa grinned. "Maybe not like you're imagining, but- I'll show you. And we can try at least get you some swimming basics sorted out."

A thrill in her stomach now; Tifa was going to show her something new. "I'd like that."


	26. Gainsborough MD

Mysteries were Aeris Gainsborough MD's favourite thing. But not something as mundane as crosswords, numerical patterns or cryptography. She liked the mysteries of the human body, the strange interactions of biological processes with a mish-mash of environmental factors and various kinds of chemicals. She worked as head of the diagnostics department in a hospital in Midgar. The only one of its kind - a department she made purely to do what she did. Other patients would come and go; other doctors could deal with them.

Most patients were either trivially simplistic or present for a known medical procedure. Aeris hated those patients, preferring to waste time; on soap operas, annoying other members of staff, anything unless something truly interesting came in. Some kind of sport might have been fun; pity about the damaged leg forcing her onto a cane and constant pain medication. Life had not played fair there and left her with the consequences. Perhaps things would have been easier to have the leg amputated; Aeris refused at the time, not wanting to lose a body part.

The pain and the medication influenced her interactions elsewhere. Despite her own diagnostic skill and knowledge, the hospital administrators insisted on a team to assist her. A trio of younger doctors who performed well enough, though they were little more than sounding boards (on one occasion Aeris had substituted passengers on an airship for them and diagnosed the problem without issue) most of the time. Biggs was career minded and chafing at the occasional menial tasks Aeris set him on - to say nothing of orders to break into the patient's home. Wedge was eager to please, more of a skilled surgeon than a diagnostician. And there was Jessie.

Jessie was perhaps the best of them at their nominal job and the most likely to call Aeris on any questionable actions. She was also totally crushing on Aeris, something Aeris had used for her own ends with thus far relatively minor damage to their relationship. She had a breaking point but it was not hard and fast. Her problem - all their problems - was empathy. They cared about the patient, wanted to make them well. Not that she didn't, but they wanted them well for their family, for their own conscience or sense of morality. They had a tendency to live vicariously via a glimpse of these other people.

No such desire for Aeris. Once diagnosed, once the treatment worked, her interest lapsed and she moved onto the next. Sadly the next often took a long time to arrive and left her bored, staring into the depths of Cure materia, searching out more minute facets of ancient knowledge, other treatments, other diseases and their underlying causes.

The most recent case took some time to arrive on her desk. Jessie took a first try at the patient, concluding the issue was nothing beyond a bad rash. The patient failed to get better and forced other attempts. Cancer mooted and dropped as various tests failed to detect any cancerous cells. The plague mentioned off-hand, investigated and dropped. But the disease - whatever it was - was not similar to the recorded instances of plague.

They kept him away from others, keeping as many safeguards in place. Treatments failed and they started to run short of theories. Until at the end the symptoms stumped Aeris; she had to go and see the patient in person. Aeris adhered to certain processes and precautions; whatever the patient had was not known to be contagious, so she limped into the sealed chamber he lay in. Stupid hair. What she would tell him when he was conscious; those blonde spikes a throw back to a previous decade if not more.

A distraction from the sickness. A black mottling ran the length of his left arm, strange and unresponsive to whatever treatments they threw at it. It seeped a viscous fluid of the same colour periodically. The stuff defied current analysis; the hospital was considering trying any hints at what this stuff was. Somehow it was causing pain. Somehow despite the amount of skin it covered, the mottled darkness was not spreading. And it caused the patient a lot of pain.

Aeris sat down on the patient's bed. No names; he was nothing more than a puzzle she would solve. The Materia could tell her anything the Cetra ever knew about disease and illness. It could tell her nothing about this. Easy to extrapolate from but it would not do to be too presumptuous. But had they encountered a new disease - one never seen before?


	27. Gainsborough's Model

"Not much longer." Aeris ducked back behind the canvas as she continued to paint. Her subject said nothing and maintained the same posture as he had the entire time. So many interesting little details; blond spiky hair. Those blue eyes. And the scars covering near his entire body. A different subject to the norm. The variation was good - as was something more conventional from some of her work. Her hand threatened to stray, to extend a line out to here and-

No. Patience. Later. For now, this mundane subject. She scrubbed the starts of her interpolation, the exploration of a private theme before Tifa arrived. By now the painting was almost three-quarters complete. She leant on Aeris's shoulder and studied the canvas. "Nice. Very nice." Aeris smiled, Tifa watching from behind. She wandered away at some point, Aeris hardly noticing - lost in the work.

At last she completed the painting and she sat back. "Thank you for your time."

Cloud let out a sigh of relief and stood. Far too late now to let his nudity faze her; she was too well acquainted with her subject to find him the least bit interesting like this. "Can I see?"

"Oh. Sure." Aeris gestured to the canvas; Cloud studied the painting.

"I look good," he said eventually.

Aeris shrugged. "I just paint what I see."

That got her a quizzical look. "Not always. The J Series-"

"Oh well, yes," Aeris said. "I meant when I do things like this. And landscapes."

Cloud's gaze flicked to the walls where a few other recent works were leaning. "I like those ones."

Aeris grinned. "I can give you a discount. If you like? You've done me a good service here."

"Doubt I could afford your stuff." Cloud shook his head as he chuckled.

"You're welcome to stay for dinner. A bonus?" Hopefully not. The less time he was here translated to more for later.

"I'm good thanks. I should get home."

Aeris nodded and Cloud wandered away. A quick re-appraise of the canvas and her latest work. Still satisfied. She left it to dry and wandered out of her main studio to sort out the evening meal. So much time she had to give over to these tasks, to not draw attention to the secret other paintings. The paintings Tifa had never seen her work on, only ever witnessed once complete. Aeris would insist it was all a matter of timing; she painted those dark and twisted shapes when the mood took her, often at the cost of some other work she post-poned.

Helpfully, Tifa turned in for an early start. More time to work within - and less need to sneak. Aeris gave Tifa a whole hour to doze off before venturing down into the basement. The place was mostly used as a storeroom for junk; old easels, ruined canvases, bikes, unimportant boxes from the move into the place. And easily missed against one wall was another door. As far as everyone else knew, the key to this lock long lost and the passage beyond long since sealed.

Aeris knew otherwise. Down here, well beneath the house was a secret sub-basement. A cramped, circular room, the floor a two meter rim around a pit of uncertain depth. Blank canvases occupied most of the floor space. Aeris bolted the door behind her and prepared the paint. Not long now. She sketched the aperture. That alone barred this painting from contemplation by anyone else. Too many clues, too many indications of the rest. She broke off the sketch when flecks of darkness drifted up from the edges of the pit both here and in her art. The painting reflected reality.

There was always something odd about painting like this. How she would lose track of time so easily, losing hours to the painting, how she would never feel tired or slow. How she barely seemed able to paint fast enough. It was not as if her subject changed much, but there was some odd sense she might not be able to capture it all in time.

The J subject would alter on her words, shifting and reforming as she spoke. No direct correlation between her words and its shapes. Some times it seemed more like a landscape than a creature; the form resembling a vista on some alien world. Other times the subject seemed too close to humanoid for comfort. In a few unguarded occasions - the point before she fell asleep on the nights she did sleep - Aeris wondered where it had come from. It resembled no creature she was aware of. Were what she took as vistas truly fantastical? Or was this a creature from another world? One trying to show her its past?

No way to tell. The J subject was hers alone and the paintings based on it popular beyond expectation. Worth the cost when she put her arm to the reforming mass. Worth the blood she paid to it each night.


	28. The Sector Seven Witch

Tifa was in the process of explaining how Avalanche worked when the leader - Barret possibly - wandered back into the room and asked if Cloud had seen the witch yet. "The witch?"

"Not yet," Tifa called over her shoulder.

"He definitely needs a potion for tonight." An edge of humour to the other man's voice. Tifa nodded.

"Witch?" Cloud asked again.

"Witch," Tifa said. "She's ah-" She shook her head. "She helps us out. I think she's on our side. More or less."

"Okay." Cloud frowned as Tifa lead him back out into Sector Seven and along the street. "But seriously? Witch?"

Tifa shrugged. "If you have Materia, you can throw around magic. Why would calling someone a witch be weird?"

There were about a hundred reasons, not least the use of such an archaic term in the modern age. Tifa had something of a point though; magic was an accepted part of everyday life, but no one Cloud could think of would label themselves a wizard. Nor was anyone likely to. Ditto witch. And yet. Tifa looked back and Cloud shrugged helplessly. A witch. No way would she be like he thought; an old crone, swaddled head to toe in black with a pointy hat perched on her head. He might be able to square the notion of a witch in the current time-frame, but not dressed like that.

Their journey ended a few minutes later outside a nondescript building. More like a residence than anything else. Tifa glanced at her watch and swore. "I need to get back. Just... she's nice. Ask her for an energy potion." She started heading back the way they came. "And come find us when you're done."

Cloud watched until she vanished into the crowd. The door was not locked and there was no choice but to clamber up a rickety staircase to the first floor. Through another door and into a crowded room. Hanging baskets and shelves occupied seemingly every part of the air not corresponding to bare floorboards beneath. Right beneath the baskets were yet more shelves, crowded with glassware and jars containing a bewildering variety of materials. "Hello?"

"Hi!" A voice answered. The witch did not sound old. "What can I do for you?"

"Tifa sent me?"

"Ah!" Something shifted in the distance and there was movement. A flash of pink in between the shelves and the other objects- A woman about his age rounded a set of shelves and grinned at him. "Magic potion?"

"Yeah. She said to ask for one?"

The witch nodded and strode away, waving him after her. Cloud followed the winding route as she threaded through the cramped space. He half expected a cauldron at the end. Instead they arrived at what looked a lot like a kitchen. The witch tugged a thin and ragged book from a shelf of recipe books and leafed through it. From here the contents seemed to be a variety of newspaper and magazine clippings. She stopped on a specific page and bustled around the kitchen. She at least fit to the environment - if not so much the impression her description gave Cloud.

The witch grabbed a reusable plastic drinks bottle and deposited a few pinches of some unidentifiable herbs into the bottle. She opened a fridge and opened a can of sports drink. Cloud blinked. The brand was well known - and widely advertised for use in keeping people awake. Seriously part of her potion? Apparently; the witch poured half the can into the bottle and swigged the remainder. Back in the fridge and another can of energy drink. She cracked it open and dumped it after the first. Five heaped tea spoons of coffee went in after and she sealed the top. "Here you go." Cloud gingerly took the bottle. "Don't taste great, but it works." She grinned at him.

"Thanks," he said, the situation still giving him some issues.

"Anything else while you're here?" The witch flipped through a few more pages. "Weapon enchants or anything?"

"Weapon enchants?" Cloud blurted.

"Sure." She brushed past him and pulled a beaker from a workbench. The stink was incredible. "Poison blade."

Cloud winced, pinching his nose. "What is that?"

"Tobacco." She peered at it. "Concentrated like that, you don't need to do much but touch it. Pain to carry around; risky to handle. Not many people go in for that."

"I think the potion is good enough," Cloud said. "I should, er, get back."

"Cool. Let Tifa know I can help out if she needs me again." The witch had produced some brass knuckles from somewhere and slipped them onto her hands.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Cloud stopped. On a nearby workbench, a tiny model house was waddling across what looked like a small park towards a lake.

"My familiar," the witch said suddenly loud in his ear. "She's 15 Parkview Avenue."

There was perhaps a story there, but this was all too much for Cloud since he arrived. He held up the potion. "Thanks for this. I'll pass your message on."

"Cool. See you around, newbie." And with that the witch seemed to lose interest in him; Cloud stumbled back out into the street.


	29. Nibelheim School of Witches and Wizards

Coming into the magical world from outside was not easy. Aeris Gainsborough's induction into the Nibelheim School for Witches and Wizards had begun soon after receiving the (surprising) acceptance letter with a personal visit from a Professor. There were two conversations that day. One for Aeris and her mother - and one for her mother alone. Aeris listened into the second, some of it strange at the time. There would be a certain amount of prejudice from some quarters and some students - potentially some faculty too. Other students came from families steeped in lore and with the chance to practice spellwork before attending school.

Aeris would need to prepare for failure. Prepare to crumble under the pressure. To be unable to unlearn the intricacies of her life up until this point and instead learn of the hidden layer in the world - and reconcile the two. If she failed- The Professor's tone grew serious as she assured Mom it would likely not come to it. Aeris was a bright girl and ranked (via some oblique mechanism no other child had an insight into) above a good number of the traditionally born witches and wizards. Mom said nothing of the conversation after the teacher left. She was more concerned with the shopping trips and preparation. Meeting up with their contact to get their first glimpse at this other world; how to change the family's gil into something else.

The witching world - for want of a better description - was not wholly a surprise on their first visit to the hidden shopping district. It was oddly inline with Aeris's own assumptions of the world offset from present day by a century or more. Though not that simple either; these people had no Mako reactors or mobile phones. But they made use of electricity and most of the younger generation could pass through mundane society without attracting a second look. Curious. Books were still paper and cardboard - they also tended to include images that would shift or photographs that would move.

Some witches and wizards stared with disdain as their guide showed them around; conversely it was hard not to stare back. At the red-furred creatures running the banking system. At the proliferation of so many people dressed how she might have imagined a wizard or witch would. Pointy hats. Cloaks. Robes. There were cauldrons and dried ingredients. A whole shelf of phonebook sized volumes of histories and theories - Aeris read those avidly. And of course, the wands.

Here reality deviated more sharply from fiction. A wand was ultimately little more than a container for Materia. Each Materia represented a class of spell. With skill, dediction and time, a witch could hope to retain the knowledge from the Materia and no longer require them or the wand. Over time. For the meantime, a witch needed to use their wand to cast spells. The wand size increased with a witches magical ability; from a short section allowing for four spheres to something the length of a quarterstaff; typically only found in the hands of the older and most famous witches.

Wands were easy to come by; Materia less so. Obtaining it required a number of licenses and the completion of at least the first four years at the school. Another area where her outsider status came with limitations; established families could and did allow for the new students to handle and practice with Materia well in advance of the school beginning. Aeris was not about to allow that to slow her down either.

But while she was not allowed Materia - and would gain her first chance to cast magic later - the wand revealed something hereto unsuspected. The white rock, the sole memento of her real mother was the precise shape and size of one of the Materia slots in her first wand. Aeris made no move to mention this to anyone during shopping. She did not reveal it to her mother either. She waited until it was time for bed - and when she was sure her mother was sleeping.

Sure enough, the white sphere slotted into the wand without problem. Her heart thudding in her chest, Aeris re-read the instructions in the course text, hefted the wand upright and reached out. Nothing. She closed her eyes and willed the Materia to respond. Still nothing. She re-read the text. No step missed or incorrect procedure. Clenching her teeth she tried once more. Still nothing.

A few possibilities; only one of them of any comfort. Perhaps the sphere was not Materia. The size and shape could be coincidence. Disheartening, but plausible; none of the books mentioned any Materia of that colour. The next possibility was that despite all the assurances, she was not intrinsically gifted with magical abilities. That after all this she would be unable to learn anything at the school. That one did not bear thinking about, though it was near impossible to stop now. Last was the most optimistic; perhaps there was something more she had yet to learn. Something the school could teach her. Time would tell.


	30. The Final Fantasy Experience

The Final Fantasy Experience; intended as a limited time event for the series' fortieth anniversary, at current rate expected to carry on indefinitely. There was more than one; the one in England a pale comparison contrasted with Tokyo's – not to mention the one in Los Angeles. But although visiting either has always been one of your ambitions (preferably Tokyo's were the variable dubbing process is not a factor), you are more than happy with the one near London. Knowing and loving the series are far from essential, but all the staff seem well acquainted with the game series and it's varying spin-offs and the sheer level of enthusiasm is amazing.

Not everyone can agree on which game and surrounding media is best. The latest always has it's champions even if perception changes dramatically over time as with Final Fantasy XIII and it's sequels. The seventeenth main-line entry commands a hefty proportion of the exhibition space and the resulting cosplayers. Assuming the project remains successful enough, it is possible all will cycle out and diminish, replaced by whatever Final Fantasy XVIII entails – and already the rumours are circulating. Many customers ask what you've heard of it – precious more than what they've already learned, at least in concrete terms.

There are forever rumours, speculation and alleged leaks or theories derived from the smattering of released concept art and self-proclaimed insiders. The speculation is fun enough – and you might have unwisely written a few fics along those lines. Mostly as the oddly recurring notion of a focus on Squall and Rinoa's daughter is more intriguing than you might have expected. Most of the space focused on the bigger games, the ones that truly broke out from RPGs to detonate in the culture. XV only managed completion – for better or worse – last year with the release of a final collection. You're never sure if there are more cosplayers for this game than any other – it seems like that some days. Final Fantasy boasts less cosplayers – or at least cosplayers definitively from that game (and not simply fans of 8bit Theatre), but commands more attention than some of the perceived lesser games because of its nature as the first.

(Secretly you are always a little dismayed FFV is one of the least featured games. The section is smaller and less than complete. Little concept art, fewer new musical renditions or ports. Certainly, it feels unfair how favoured IV is)

Final Fantasy IX remains the game considered by a number the absolute best – and reasonably popular. Final Fantasy VIII has fared better now than before – helped at least in part by those rumours. But of all the series, one is more famed than any other. The first you played – less out of some jumping on the bandwagon (but honestly who cares?) and more because none of the others were available in this country legally. Final Fantasy VII. The game's section is a mix of old production artwork, unused materials, sculptures, video-screens playing out the old game – and the corresponding media relating to the hugely successful, if divisive, Remake. Divisive in terms of the fandom; critics were not about to get involved in the varying ship wars and heated arguments about canon.

Working at the Experience is varied; some days you're in the gift shop (shelves crowded with officially licensed stuff of all kinds. Copies of the game for a plethora of platforms, official books, keychains, magnets, plushies, posters, action figures), some days you count people onto the tour, announce the event, take up stations around the exhibits to impart other details not noted on any signs to curious attendees. And sometimes you wind up in the canteen a place causing the most strain on Square-Enix's imagination. Normal food mostly, but in addition there are the health and mana drinks; and some of the ice creams. Brought over from Tokyo are the signature dishes for Cloud and Aerith (privately you still can't not think of her as Aeris, but the rest of the world has long since moved on).

And today you are working the machine, assembling the sundaes into glasses. One of only four places they are available, but since the ingredients are clear, nothing would prevent replication elsewhere. Nothing but the branding – and ultimately that is of the greatest importance here. Hard to enthuse in the same way when doing food preparation. The people who pause here are cranky or want food, or dragged here because of a significant other who's way more into the series than they are. And you have to smile and nod and serve as fast as you can, and home will come in about three hours and tomorrow you should be in the gift shop and-

Something about the trio who are next in line tugs at a memory. They're headed by a woman with short brown hair, green eyes and an amused smile. The woman to her left keeps glancing around; she has black hair, grey eyes and a lot of her attention is on those sundae glasses. The third is a blond man with dark glasses. "Hi," the first woman says. "I'd like one of the Aeri-" She breaks off. "Aerith," she stresses. "Ice creams. And two of the Cloud's."

"Wait." The other woman turns around. "Make mine an Aerith too."

The first woman's smile widens. "So you'd rather eat-" Quick glance at you. "-that one," she finishes a little awkwardly. "Than Cloud's?"

There's some innuendo in her tone and the second woman flushes. The man finds the canteen interesting. "Stop it," the second woman hisses.

The first woman chuckles. "Two Aerith and one Cloud, please."

Fans. You make the ice creams with a fixed smile; a familiar joke and everyone who cracked it thought they were original. They paid in cash and retreat with desserts to a nearby table, parts of their conversation audible as you serve the customers behind them.

"Why didn't I get one of these?" The second woman prods at her ice cream with a long spoon.

"I'm not sure what fruit they'd pick for you." The first woman takes a huge mouthful of cream and ice cream.

"In that case, I don't see why you got strawberries. Only your jacket was red."

"True." The first woman holds up a strawberry. "But they're pink on the inside."

The second woman sighs. "Oh, so that's fine is it?"

"Blackcurrants?" The man tugs the chocolate Buster Sword from his own dessert and pauses.

"Blackcurrants could work." The second woman stares at the chocolate. "You had better not be thinking of doing anything with that."

"What?" The man was taken aback. "I was going to offer you both some."

"Oh how noble," the first woman replies. "Here have a bite of my huge chocolate weapon?"

The second woman shushed them as she giggles. "People will notice."

"Don't worry about that." The first woman scoops more ice cream from the glass. "I have our cover all figured out."

"Which is?"

"Cloud, Tifa and Aerith. In a parallel world. Twenty years older."

The second woman stares at her. "That's either genius or asking for trouble." The first woman shrugs; the second woman glances to the man. "No objections?"

"Best lies have an element of truth," the man replies.

"Yeah but that's not so much element of truth as-" The second woman shakes her head. "Nevermind."

The first woman drops her spoon into the glass and pushes it to the centre of the table. "That was good." She glanced around the canteen. "I kind of like this. Weird as it is."

Her companions sit up straighter. "The food?"

"All of it. I mean, it's weird to see people so fixated on it, but it seems to make them happy."

"So-" The second woman frowns. "You don't mind how you're presented?"

"Not really. I mean, it makes for better cover. I thought you'd be more concerned with people's perceptions." She glances at the man. "You too."

"The stuff here doesn't seem to have the really awful things I heard about." The second woman grimaces. "But, seriously: they've gotten both of you dead wrong."

The man chuckled. "I can live with it."

"Me too," the first woman says. "That's not me in the end. Well. Maybe it was at first. But her-" She gestures at the sundae. "That's like not speaking ill of the dead and deifying someone. I have a better reputation for being dead than-" She frowns and shrugs. "Not about to let it get to me. Shall we see the rest of it?"

"Sure." The second woman starts to rise and stops. "Did you decide yet?"

"Decide?" The first woman looks blank.

"Yeah. About the shipping?" The second woman raises one eyebrow.

"Oh that." The first woman chuckles. "While it's true I don't need any more excuses to kiss both of you… I'm not convinced anyone would take notice. Are people going to believe us if we told them? Especially as we don't look the same anymore."

The second woman looks relieved. "Fair point. Well; we'll enjoy the rest of this and leave them to it I suppose." She moves to rub her eyes and stops. "Going to be glad to get rid of these contacts..."

The three of them walk away. Fandom remains weird it seemed. Possibly more cosplay and roleplay dedication than you've seen in a long, long time.

The next day was a bit weird; that Aeris Gainsborough, Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart had signed the guestbook was nothing out of the ordinary – people did that all the time and few signatures matched any other. But these were carefully formed block capitals. And no one could explain the one gil coin left behind too – not a reproduction and unlike anything you'd seen before. Passed around the break room and speculated and forgotten. Fandom going the extra mile once again.


End file.
